For Ricardo and Melissa Castañeda, Chestnut Graphics & Print is more than a print shop. It is a business built around craftsmanship, accessibility, and helping other local businesses look ready to compete.
The Pearland-area company provides commercial printing, design, web development and branded promotional materials for businesses, nonprofits and organizations. Chestnut is the Castañeda name translated into English.
From animation to printing
Ricardo Castañeda’s creative path began in Southern California, where he grew up in South Gate, southeast of Los Angeles. A lifelong interest in drawing and video games led him to earn a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and animation from California State University, Fullerton.
He interned at Nickelodeon and later worked at Warner Bros. Animation, including on Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the Thundercats remake. During his time in animation, he advanced from cleanup animation and storyboarding to leading and mentoring a team of animators.
The work taught him the importance of professionalism, attention to detail and helping others succeed. But after years of long schedules, Castañeda transitioned into graphic design and information technology, eventually building a design and printing business in California.
That earlier business took a back seat while he worked with high schools, supporting IT systems and websites. When he and his wife moved to Texas, however, the equipment and experience he had built remained part of the picture.
Melissa encouraged him to restart the venture. Castañeda began moving his equipment to Texas piece by piece, then secured workspace through a friend with a warehouse property. At that point the business officially became Chestnut Graphics & Print.
Built through community
Chestnut grew through a straightforward approach: show up, meet people and do good work.
After deciding to focus on the company full time, Castañeda joined the Pearland Chamber of Commerce and began attending ribbon cuttings and other local events. Those face-to-face connections helped introduce the business to area owners and organizations.
“People would see us there, and then they got to know us and how easygoing we are and how great our prices were,” he said. “Then they trusted us enough to do their printing.”
Chestnut Graphics & Print has also joined the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Brazoria County, widening its connections across the region and bringing work from other nearby communities.
Since November the business has maintained a steady run of weekly orders as word-of-mouth referrals and repeat customers have continued to grow.
Quality without cutting corners
The company’s central promise is “high-quality, low-cost printing.” Castañeda said he works to keep prices accessible without reducing the quality of the finished product.
That commitment is especially important with foundational materials such as business cards, where he said low-cost options can sometimes mean flimsy stock and an unprofessional first impression.
“We put love in our work,” Castañeda said. “For me, it’s having that pride of craftsmanship.”
He said that craftsmanship, combined with a personal approach to customer service, is what sets the company apart.
“Customers are not just a number to us,” Castañeda said. “They’re someone that’s also a business owner that’s trying to make it as well, and we’re there to help.”
The shop also emphasizes quick turnaround times. Some products, including business cards and postcards, can be completed the next day, while standard jobs generally take two to three days.
Chestnut Graphics & Print also offers a one-year warranty on its hardware products, including displays and related items it produces and assembles. If an eligible product breaks, Castañeda said the company will replace it.
Services for growing brands
Chestnut Graphics & Print offers a broad selection of printed, digital, and promotional materials for businesses seeking a consistent, professional brand presence.
Its services include:
● Business cards and postcards
● Flyers, brochures, marketing materials and magnets
● Posters, booklets and magazines
● Roll-up banners, hanging banners, flags and signage
● Custom canopies, tablecloths and table runners
● Branded pens, koozies and promotional items
● Window decals, perforated window graphics and vehicle wraps
● Apparel decoration, embroidery, direct-to-film printing and sublimation
● Graphic design and web design
Helping businesses be seen
The company can also help clients create websites. Castañeda said Chestnut Graphics & Print currently offers websites at no design charge, with customers paying for hosting. The aim is to help smaller companies present themselves professionally online, even when they do not have the same marketing budgets as larger corporations.
“One thing that we want to do [is] be able to offer these small companies what these giant corporations have,” he said. “They may not be able to compete with them, but they’re as visible as them.”
Chestnut Graphics & Print is a veteran-owned and operated business. Both Ricardo and Melissa Castañeda are veterans, with Melissa being a 100% disabled veteran. The company also offers nonprofit pricing for qualifying organizations.
For Castañeda, supporting the community includes being flexible when a newer business owner is still finding their footing. That may mean helping with marketing advice, providing price breaks or arranging payments for a larger project.
“I like giving back to the community. I like helping people,” he said. “Especially someone new, because we’ve been there.”
That outlook informs both the company’s pricing and its service model. Chestnut Graphics & Print is positioned not simply as a vendor, but as a local partner for businesses and organizations that need to be seen, remembered and taken seriously.
