In September 1970, Paul Orfalea, just out of college, borrowed enough money to open his first photocopy shop in Isla Vista, the campus community of the University of California at Santa Barbara. Instead of calling it “Paul’s Copies,” he called it “Kinko’s” after the nickname given to him by his college buddies because of his curly, reddish hair.
The first store was located in the corner of a building that also housed a taco stand (which later proved advantageous when Paul cut a hole in the connecting wall, allowing him to order lunch without leaving the store).
This tiny Kinko’s was 100 square feet and featured a single copier, offset press, film processing and a small selection of stationery and school supplies. As the store grew, so did the number of machines. The space became so cro
