Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 26, 1990 TAG: 9007260049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He pops them in his Ultra 3000.
And out comes the family dog on your favorite coffee cup; a set of Dale Earnhart dinner plates; grandpa on a golf ball.
You bring him the picture, and Howell will find something to put it on.
It's kind of a weird hobby, he admits, but some day he hopes it will pay off.
"People are plumb fascinated by it," he said.
Howell, 46, and his wife, Teresa, caught the Ultra 3000 System bug last August, while on their honeymoon in Virginia Beach.
One day, they happened on a convention of different franchises that people could buy and begin back in their hometowns.
Many of them were established, like Jiffy Lube, which was the first to catch the couple's attention.
But Howell, a mechanic and owner of Salem Radiator & Auto Sales, quickly dismissed the Jiffy Lube notion.
"I don't want to grease nobody's car for the rest of my life," he said.
Then the newlyweds came across the Ultra 3000.
Designed by a team of engineers from Seattle, the machine bonds photographs to plates, platters, cups, piggy banks, flower vases, Christmas tree decorations and other ceramic items.
They bought it on the spot.
"I liked this thing the best, so we got it," explained Howell. "I figured if I'm going to buy something, I'm going to buy something nobody else has got."
It cost him $10,000.
But now Howell is Virginia's only maker of ceramic items customized with personal photographs.
He can provide the pictures and the dishes or you can bring him your own.
"Some woman came from Martinsville just to get her dog put on one," he said.
In stock, Howell keeps photographs of the Texas Tavern, Jefferson High School, St. Andrew's Catholic Church and race car drivers Dale Earnhart and Richard Petty.
Mostly, however, people give him pictures of their children or pets. He said his race car drivers sell pretty well, too.
"With fans, anything that's got their favorite driver's picture on it, they'll buy. And NASCAR has a bunch of fans around here."
Still, business has been slow overall. He estimated he has done about 300 jobs since August.
"But it'll catch on," he said. "People like their photographs and this is something new.
"If people could look at it and see it in person, I think they'd like it better. Now, I don't know if they understand what it is."
Basically, Howell places the pictures on the object, coats them with a glaze made from the same material used to make contact lenses and then inserts them into the machine. An ultraviolet light cooks the glaze briefly and five minutes later, the job is done.
"It works something similar to an oven," he said.
Prices range from about $10 to $40.
"Sooner or later, it's going to pay for itself and then it'll start showing a profit," Howell said.
Meanwhile, he has to keep up the monthly payments.
"Some months we've got to dig to pay for it. Some months it pays for itself and then some."
Christmas was his best season. Anniversaries and birthdays also bring in business.
But Howell isn't concerned. His business keeps him busy and Teresa works at Roanoke College.
"We didn't buy it to try to make a living off it or nothing," he said.
He said there are other bonuses: "You know, a lot of people got everything. But they don't have one of these. I don't hurt for gift ideas no more."
by CNB