Some careers are just jobs. But printing? Printing is a beautiful mix of chaos and craft.

There’s a rhythm to a print shop. The hum of machines. The smell of ink. The constant dance between deadlines and design. And then—there’s that moment. The one where a finished piece is held in someone’s hands, and suddenly, everything clicks.

Nobody captures that better than a seasoned printer with nearly 50 years in the business. John Henry, owner of Mitchell’s Speedway Press in Oswego, NY, recently shared this heartfelt reflection on Facebook:

The Life of a Printer (or, What Can Befuddle Me…)

By John Henry, Mitchell’s Speedway Press

For almost 50 years, I’ve been in the printing business. You’d think by now, nothing would surprise me. And yet, despite printing being literally in our name, despite our tagline spelling it out—Signs. Direct Mail. Design.—people still walk in or call and ask:

“Do you do printing?”
“Do you make signs?”
“Can you design this?”

At this point, I no longer question it. It’s not that they don’t know. It’s that they don’t know what to ask. So, we smile, say, “Of course we do,” and then magically transform their ideas into a finished project, delivered on time.

We’ve tried different ways to explain what we do. Something catchy like: “We put ink on paper.” But these days, it’s a lot of toner too. And let’s be honest—it doesn’t just go on the paper. It ends up on our hands, our clothes, our faces, and somehow, even in our lunch. It’s like an occupational hazard no one warns you about.

Then there’s the smell of a print shop. Some people walk in, wrinkle their noses, and say, “Oh my God, what’s that smell?” Others take a deep breath, smile, and say, “I LOVE it! Ink and paper—just like those fresh-off-the-press worksheets from school.” (We don’t judge either group, but we definitely respect the second one more.)

Back in college, we had a poster of a grizzled, exhausted man standing in a doorway, cigarette dangling from his lips, looking like he had just seen things no man should see. The caption? “Printing is exciting.”

And you know what? It is. Sure, by Friday afternoon, we might feel like that guy—worn out, covered in ink, and wondering how a simple print job turned into a weeklong saga. But come Monday morning, we walk back through the shop doors, fire up the presses, and turn out gorgeous projects that make someone’s job easier, their business better, or their event a success.

And when we see their face light up as we hand over their freshly printed project, we remember why we do this.

Because printing really is exciting.

Did you know that we began as a print shop too?

We’ve never forgotten what that means. That’s why we’re proud to walk this path with you—through the ink smudges, surprises, and everything in between.