Founded in 1988. Renamed in 2025. Still Youngstown.

In 1988, Ron Smith founded RL Smith Graphics in Boardman with a small team and a clear idea: serve the Mahoning Valley with signage, vehicle graphics, and printing the way local businesses actually wanted to be served. He built that for 33 years.

In 2021, Keri Johnson — a 20-year employee — bought the business from Ron when he retired. She kept the doors open and the relationships intact through one of the harder periods a small business can navigate.

In July 2024, a group of local Youngstown investors — Justin Gable, Bruce Tamarkin and Lee Burdman of Redstone Investments, Sam Shapiro of Dart Metals, and Joe DeSalvo of DeSalvo Construction — acquired the business. Justin had previously run Innovation Exhibits, one of RL's competitors. The merger brought both teams under one roof.In 2025, RL Smith Graphics became RL Signs & Graphics — a name that reflects what the shop has actually been doing for years: signage, vehicle graphics, wall graphics, large format, business printing, and promotional. Same shop, same craft, broader name.

The next chapter is bigger than the last three. National fleet partnerships through our 3M Certification. Deeper Valley relationships across healthcare, education, retail, municipal, and commercial work. A clearer brand, a sharper service mix, and a renewed focus on the kind of craft that lasts as long as the buildings it lives on.