I had always wanted to start my own business and well taking over my fathers printing and graphic arts business when he retired wasn’t quite the same as starting my own business but it was exciting nevertheless. My father had owned the printing and graphic arts business for as long as I could remember.

He had started the printing and graphic arts business before my brother and I had been born and it had grown over the years. Printing and graphic arts had always been what my father loved doing. He was a very good artist himself and as the printing and graphic arts business had grown that was his only regret that he had become more of a businessman than an artist.

My father had worked very hard over the years at the printing and graphic arts business and now he wanted to spend his days in his studio at home creating the artworks that he had always dreamed of creating.

When I had been young I had spent a lot of time at the printing and graphic arts business helping my father so I actually knew the business pretty well so when I returned to the printing and graphic arts business as the owner I was flooded with memories of the days of working there side by side with my father.
When I was inspecting the premises of the printing and graphic arts business I found a storeroom full of nostalgia. It was where they stored much of the equipment that they had used when they had been a small concern but as a big printing and graphic arts business they no longer used these things.

This brought back many memories so I spent some time in the storeroom going through all of the things from the original and early printing and graphic arts business it seemed such a waste sitting there and gathering dust. These are some of the things that I found:
Printing and graphic arts equipment

1. Printer’s blocks: These pieces of printing and graphic arts equipment I loved because they had historical value and gave insight into the local history. Though I was amazed to find that my father had quite a collection of different ones and I spent a lot of time looking at these. Some of the collection included:
• Mr. Peanut with monocle and cane;
• Snowman with shovel;
• Football Fall sport;
• Grippos ice cream cone;
• Runner catches football;
• Bird in gilded cage;
• Santa Claus with Christmas frame and many more.

2. Hot Stamp Type- OVAL Monogram with Spacers: This piece of printing and graphic arts equipment my father used to use when he would personalize gambling chips for the local casino and to also personalize stationary for local business and wedding invites. He no longer used it because technology had changed and he had more automated machinery to do the same tasks a lot easier;

3. Laminating Machines: There were a number of different laminating machines amongst the printing and graphic arts equipment in the storeroom. They were varying sizes and could laminate everything from a credit card size membership card to an A1 poster and they all still worked because I checked them;

4. Old wooden Letterpress printer: This piece of printing and graphic arts equipment went with the old printers blocks we ended up setting them us and printing off the old blocks for a promotion that we were running and also we were fascinated by this printing and graphic arts equipment;

5. T-Shirt Heat Transfer Press Machine: I remember working with my father years ago with this printing and graphic arts machine. It was when the idea of printing on T-shirts with transfers was all the rage and he had a big order for the local school. The transfers had been printed late because there had been some sort of hold up, I can’t remember what and his side kick (he only had one in those days) had been sick and unable to work.

So my brother and I had helped our father out working all night with this and a second press to get the order ready for the next day. We had finished just an hour before the order was picked up and dad took us out for breakfast to thank us for our help.

6. Vintage office hard rubber stamps: I remember that my father used to make these rubber stamps as part of the printing and graphic arts business. There was a boxful of what looked like left over stamps which were now interesting from a historical point of view – they had never been used;

7. Paper cutter and trimmers: These were the small kind that we no longer used at the printing and graphic arts business but they were in excellent condition and still very useful ad printing and graphic arts equipment to cut small lots especially for someone that was only dealing with small quantities.

This is just some of the printing and graphic arts equipment that I found in the storeroom my father said that he didn’t want any of it and I wondered what to do with it.

I donated the vintage pieces to the local printing and graphic arts museum and some of the other printing and graphic arts equipment I donated to the local high school. Well the rest I advertised online to sell to people with their own small business and I used the money to throw a party for the staff.