Founded in 1946 as Lynn Blue Print, Lexington-based Lynn Imaging began as a small blueprint supply company serving builders and surveyors from a 1,000-square-foot storefront on Short Street downtown.
At the time, reproducing architectural drawings meant using the diazo printing process, which involved placing a translucent original over light-sensitive paper, exposing it to ultraviolet light and developing it with ammonia fumes to create a positive print.
Today, architectural plans are produced digitally using CAD software and large-format inkjet printers, a transformation that mirrors the company’s own evolution over the past 80 years.
Through decades of technological change, Lynn Imaging has continually adapted its business to meet the changing needs of its customers, particularly in the architecture, engineering and construction industry.
Jack Lynn, along with spouse Marcella Lynn, founded Lynn Blue Print in 1946 as a blueprint printing and supply company
“We don’t want to become irrelevant — we don’t want to be Blackberry or some of these other companies where they stick their heads in the sand and say, ‘This is going to last forever,’” said Jeff Presley, Lynn Imaging’s chief revenue officer. “People still print reams of blueprints, but we’re always asking ourselves, what could be the next thing that might make that go away?”
That willingness to evolve has shaped the company’s growth from a traditional blueprint shop into a full-service construction information management and printing company. Over the years, Lynn Imaging expanded into copy services, printer and copier sales and maintenance, signage and graphics, digital document management and construction workflow software.
Today, its clients include the University of Kentucky, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Sherman Carter Barnhart and Keeneland. Some customers, including JRA Architects, have worked with the company since its earliest years.
The architecture, engineering and construction sector remains central to Lynn’s business.
“Wherever the industry goes, we want to be right in the middle of it. That’s what we’ve done for 80 years,” Presley said. “Whatever helps our customers succeed, that’s going to be our business.”
Lynn Imaging has supported thousands of projects across Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia and Southern Indiana, helping firms collaborate and manage increasingly complex construction projects. One of the company’s major digital tools is its Online Planroom, which centralizes project information and bid documents for owners, architects, contractors and subcontractors. Lynn Imaging also developed eComm, an in-house construction information management platform designed to streamline project communication, workflows, document tracking and closeout processes.
The company's original Short Street location.
The company expanded further in 2007 with the launch of Monster Color, its large-format graphics and signage division. Monster Color produces oversized graphics and installations for clients ranging from sports venues, including the Lexington Legends baseball stadium, to distilleries and corporate spaces.
Now, as the company explores ways to integrate AI and continue modernizing its digital services, Lynn Imaging is celebrating a milestone few Kentucky businesses achieve.
“Sustaining a business across eight decades wouldn’t be possible without an exceptional team and the trust of our customers,” CEO Shelby Marshall said. “Founded by my grandfather, later led by my father and his partner, and now under my direction, the company has continued to evolve alongside the construction community we’re proud to serve.”
Marshall said the accelerating pace of technological change requires constant reinvestment and adaptation.
“The pace of change is accelerating — what once took decades now happens in years,” she said. “Our focus is not just to keep up, but to stay ahead through continued investment in e-communication solutions and digital print technologies.”
Like many long-running companies, Lynn Imaging is also navigating generational transitions within its workforce. Presley said succession planning and preserving institutional knowledge have become critical priorities as longtime employees approach retirement.
“We have people who’ve been here 20, 30, 40 years,” Presley said. “It’s really finding who’s next and getting them in position before the person leaves.”
For Marshall, who represents the third generation of family leadership, reaching the company’s 80th anniversary is both a business accomplishment and a personal one.
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate 80 years as a Kentucky business,” she said. “Each change has been driven by one goal: helping our customers do their work better. That commitment to adapt, improve and serve is what has sustained us for 80 years — and it is what will carry us into the future.”