Herbert A. Wells (1917-2007) – Owner of Insta Graphic Systems and Founder of International Coatings in 1957, and Owner of Insta Graphic Systems since 1969.
Wells was born in Germany on October 7, 1917. Following the murder of one of his friends by Hitler Youth in 1934, his parents sent him to the United States to live with family there. Although speaking very little English at the time, Wells graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1938 with a B.S. in chemistry and entered the field of medicine.
When his parents moved to the United States in 1939 with World War II imminent, Wells changed his career from medicine to chemistry and begin working for American Resinous in Peabody, Massachusetts developing synthetic rubber and other critical projects for the war effort. It was in Peabody that Wells met and married his wife, Dorothy, in 1945. The couple had three daughters; Carol, Susan and Janet. Dorothy Wells succumbed to breast cancer in 1978.
In 1947, Wells would help engineer Elmer’s Glue for the Borden® Company, which introduced the first consumer white glue in 1947. Originally marketed under the trade name “Cascorez Glue,” the glue was packaged in glass bottles with “ice cream pop” type wooden sticks attached with a rubber band. Shortly thereafter, the glue was repositioned under the name “Elmer’s Glue-All” after Elmer, the “spouse” of Borden’s famed corporate symbol, Elsie the cow.
In 1950, Wells set up Serafon, the first vinyl manufacturing company in Israel.
In 1957, Herbert moved his family to Los Angeles to start his own business – International Coatings Company. It was there that Wells began making custom industrial plastics and adhesive compounds. The company then expanded to offer textile screenprinting inks, vinyl and urethane plastics, specialty coatings and adhesives and traffic paint.
In 1969, Wells acquired Insta Graphic Systems, a heat transfer manufacturing company that applied Herb’s plastisol inks to t-shirts and other apparel. In 1978, he relocated his businesses to Cerritos, California, where they continue today. Herb was a passionate skier, hiker and outdoors man. April 2007 was his 50th consecutive year to ski at Mammoth Mountain. He died December 29th, after suffering a series of strokes since October.
Insta Graphic Systems was founded in 1959 by two young men who sold heat presses and transfers to schools. The company was purchased by Wells in 1969, just as the decorated t-shirt market boomed. Insta Graphic Systems grew as Wells purchased licenses for cartoon characters that were printed as transfers. These included Bullwinkle & Friends, Mighty Mouse, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker and many others. Wells also had great success with the international license for ET – the Extra Terrestrial.
When plastisol ink was invented, Wells played a pivotal role in the development of plastisol heat transfers. Insta Graphic Systems continued to be a major innovator in the transfer market, developing hot peel, puff, stretch, litho, glitter and soft-hand transfers.
In 1978, he relocated his businesses to Cerritos, California, where they continue today.
In the early 1990s, Wells’ daughter Janet Wells became the President of Insta Graphic Systems and continued to grow. They added a license for Adidas, Nike, Reebok, The Major League Baseball Association and Under Armour. On the entertainment side they added licenses for Harry Potter Series, Michael Jackson, Star Wars, The Adams Family, and more. They have also produced work for Buzz Aldrin, NASA, Richard Branson, and the Sultan of Brunei. The company has also worked with Epson, Magic Touch Transfer Paper System and Sawgrass on products, and on brands such as Armani, Disney, Guess Jeans, and Hanes.
Wells remained actively involved in the company for 50 years. He was a avid skier, hiker and outdoors man. April 2007 was his 50th consecutive year to ski at Mammoth Mountain.
Herbert A. Wells passed away on December 29, 2007.