Most Read
Most E-mailed
E-mail Article
Print Article
On the office wall of New Jersey's Wheal-Grace Corp. is letterhead printed in five colors produced on a letterpress almost six decades ago. The letterhead dates back to 1949, when Emil Salvini's father, Armando, worked for—and eventually purchased—Colorama Press. "That was no small accomplishment," notes Mr. Salvini proudly, "to print that many colors in register on an old one-color letterpress."
Hanging next to the letterhead is a more recent sample; the announcement of the opening of Greenwich Letterpress, a custom studio owned by Amy and Beth Salvini; Emil's daughters. "My dad, who passed away in 1985, would have been amazed to see his granddaughters providing letterpress, a process that slowly died out as Colorama Press, like most printing firms, made the switch to offset printing." This is a story of three generations of printers in one family, and the birth, death, and re-birth of an age-old printing process.
From Father To Son
In 1982, Colorama Press evolved into Wheal-Grace. "It was the same company," states Mr. Salvini. "By the 80s, Colorama was a bit dated, so a name change was in order." Barring the name change, the company has been in continuous operation for almost 60 years. Wheal-Grace specializes in pharmaceutical, financial, and miscellaneous full-color offset printing for the advertising and corporate communities. A state-of-the art facility is operated in a 25,000-sq.-ft. building in Belleville. Mr. Salvini started with the company in sales in the late 1970s and took over in 1985 when his father passed away.
"It was a tough time in my life," recalls Mr. Salvini. "I was alone at the helm and the company needed to modernize." It was easy for him to make the decision to purchase the company's first five-color 40" Heidelberg press.
In 2001, Mr. Salvini received a professional degree from Harvard Business School. "It was a bit difficult to participate in the three-year program and to be away from the business for long periods of time, but it was necessary for the overall health of the business," notes Mr. Salvini. Known for his marketing acumen, he created and trademarked numerous proprietary printing processes such as Green-Print, Wheal-Grace's exclusive environmental printing program, and Shadow-Etch, a black-and-white museum-quality printing process recognized by the Smithsonian Museum.
From Mother To Daughters
Greenwich Letterpress, the fine art studio owned by 20-something sisters Amy and Beth Salvini, came about when Mr. Salvini's wife, Nancy, a graphic designer, realized that there was a genuine need for quality letterpress in the New York City area.
The shop was originally slated to open in Brooklyn, but the Salvinis discovered a vacant space on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, and soon called it home. The West Village seemed the perfect location for the custom-made wares and fine gifts the Salvinis intended to sell.
There are few, if any, stores like Greenwich Letterpress in Greenwich Village or even New York City. Rarer still is the fact that even though Greenwich Letterpress sells items from other manufacturers, 90 percent of the store's items are handmade and use fine, unique papers from around the globe. Beth Salvini, vice president and the store's buyer, says "Stores like ours are almost non-existent."
