Al's Pressroom experience began in 1954 with the Evans Printing Company in Savannah, Georgia where he gained experience to later join his father's newspaper in both the camera/platemaking department and pressroom. In 1963, as production manager of the New Era Publishing Company of Decatur, Georgia, he converted the paper from letterpress to offset. In 1965 he began a nearly 25 year career with the Goss Printing Press Company, moving from press erector to salesman, then to national sales manager. With an MBA degree from Emory University, he joined Quipp Systems as vice president of sales before entering the used equipment business and, in 1991, founding ALTA.