Carelock's business is called Platinum Document Services

 Satvika Ananth
Staff Writer
Video by Gus Vangalis, KCBY

When junior Zac Carelock was 10 years old, he received a laminator cartridge for his birthday as a gag gift. Little did he know this joke would lead him to create a business which he still runs today. 

After exchanging this cartridge for a small laminator, Carelock began playing with it and learning how to use it while in the fifth grade. One day, he went with his grandmother to visit his grandfather at his nursing home, and brought the laminator with him. 

“I had just brought it along to mess with it, and we were talking to some of the other residents, who mentioned that they wished the caretakers had nametags,” Carelock said. “I told them I could do that for them with my laminator.” 

This serendipitous occasion became his first printing job. From here, Zac’s Printing and Laminating (now called Platinum Document Services) was born. Though at first he merely used his home printer, Carelock’s business soon outgrew its capabilities. 

“As I kept the business going, I realized I could upgrade, and now I have four different types of printers,” Carelock said. 

Carelock uses the upstairs portion of his house to maintain his print shop and office. 

Carelock set up his office in the upstairs portion of his house.

Since the sixth grade, Carelock has run the business entirely by himself, and as such, has run into some challenges along the way. 

When he was just beginning, he had to rely on family members for transportation. 

“Before he had his driver’s license, we would have to drive him to Office Depot and Office Max to look at printers,” Carelock’s mother, Jana Carelock said. 

These challenges have become less troublesome, but still exist to some degree. 

“Even now, I have issues with being younger sometimes,” Carelock said. “I have to learn to create my own Web site, and I have to deal with the restrictions of online transactions.” 

In addition, Carelock has had to learn how to deal with customers effectively. Between ensuring payment and guaranteeing quality service, he has learned more about running a business than most students his age. 

“At one point, when I was just starting, I had an order for over 5,000 flyers, and after I printed them, the client contacted me and said they had all smeared,” Carelock said. “I had to re-print them using a Laserjet printer. This was how I first learned the difference between Laserjet and Inkjet printers.” 

Many such situations that have confronted Carelock in the years since he began his business have helped him gain immeasurable real-life experience. 

“It’s almost hard to explain how much I’ve learned from this,” Carelock said. “I’ve learned that experience is really the most important thing, because you have to go through a situation to know how to handle it.” 

According to Zac, this business has also aided him financially. 

“I definitely make more money this way than I would if I worked at a local business as an employee,” Carelock said. 

Carelock works to make his prices attractive to customers. His full color brochures cost $67.00 for 100 copies, and full color flyers are $33.50 for 100 copies, while other major printing companies would charge double for the same services. 

Though Carelock puts a great deal of time into his business, rarely turning down an order regardless of whether it is in his catalog, he has been able to keep up socially and academically as well. 

“[Zac] really hasn’t let his business interfere with his personal life,” friend and junior Anthony Brown said. “He works some weekends and hangs out with friends other weekends. If he has a really big job, we know and don’t bother him.” 

Though Carelock has had no formal education in graphic design, he picked up the skills necessary to design his own catalog, business cards and website, www.PlatinumDocs.com. Carelock also assists with clients’ designs when they request it. 

“[Zac] has been able to get a lot out of his classes that have to do with multimedia, marketing and web technology,” Jana Carelock said. “He looks at [the classes] from a different perspective because he actually applies them to his business instead of just forgetting them.” 

In addition to using his printing skills for profit, Carelock has also given back to the community. When promoting the message of the Valley Ranch Voice organization, he printed over 14,000 flyers with information concerning their cause, free of charge. As a result, the group awarded him the Patriot Award. 

Carelock hopes to continue his business after college, and would like to open a shop once he turns 18 to help pay for college. He intends to use his experience from this business to help him in the future as well. 

“I have been making mistakes and learning from them as I go, giving me a head start on how to run a business even before I get out of high school,” Carelock said. 

Platinum Document Services can be contacted at 214-714-7333.