From One Press to Many

Forty years ago this month, Main Line Print Shop was incorporated.

The Wayne store located at 25 West Avenue was started by local resident Russ Morgan. It included storefront space on the street and the basement of the building and had one press.

Now, 40 years later, the shop, owned by Devon residents Mike and Bridget Libert, is run out of the lower level of the building and has three off-set presses, a digital printer, and a wide-format giclee machine, amongst other technologies.

The shop prints some "social" items, like invitations and save-the-dates, but its bread and butter is local business and nonprofit printings and direct mail campaigns.

The Liberts say that their business is very connected to the economy. "If things are slow out there we get it worse," said Mike. "We can tell pretty early how the wider economy will be out there."

When things are good, companies are hiring and parties are happening. But when things turn bad, that stuff slows down. Thankfully, Mike said, they have a local customer base that keeps the business steady.

The Liberts bought the business in 2002; they are its fourth owners. As for working together, the couple said they each focus on different aspects of the business so as not to step on each other's feet or drive each other crazy.

Bridget is the perfectionist who mainly deals with customers, quality control and design work. Mike handles the machines and their employees on the presses. Both handle different aspects of the finances of the business.