Printing Partners was founded by brothers Michael and Joel O’Brien, who built the company from the ground up with a focus on craftsmanship, service, and relationships. Since Michael’s passing in 2020, Joel has continued the business with the support of his wife Mary, and their children—Bailey, Liam, and Logan—who now carry the family tradition forward.
From the start, the O’Briens have believed that their greatest strength lies in their people. “Our most important role is to create an environment in which our employees can work productively and feel appreciated.” That philosophy has shaped the company’s culture and led to stories that still get told—like the woman who walked in saying, “You don’t need to interview me. I’m who you need.” Or the man who said he’d start on April 23, no invitation required. Both were right. One still works here.
Today, Printing Partners remains a place where clients get professional solutions from people who make them feel like part of the family.
In 1989, Michael O’Brien purchased a downtown Indianapolis print shop from retiring owners John and Susie Colombe. The Colombes had built a successful business with four locations and a reputation for treating employees like family—a culture the O’Briens were determined to continue.
Soon after the purchase, Michael brought in his brother Joel as a partner. Joel left a career in agricultural lending to join the new venture, and together the brothers laid the foundation for what would become Printing Partners. Their approach blended professional growth with a personal touch, honoring the employee-first values that came before them while pushing the company toward new capabilities and expansion.
The next decade brought continued growth. As a result of a strong emphasis on sales and marketing. Joel and Michael pioneered the concept of personal selling, which was unusual in the quick-print market at that time. In 1991, annual sales exceeded $1 million and the following year the company was named “Franchise of the Year.”
Through the years they earned numerous corporate awards, but the most rewarding was claimed in 1991, when Susie was honored by Insty-Prints, Inc. as “Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.” As a businesswoman, she set the standards for quality that continue at Printing Partners to this day. To accommodate its continued growth Insty-Prints leased adjacent space at 106 N. Delaware Street. By 1995, the operation had expanded through acquisition to include three locations, becoming the largest multiple-unit Insty-Prints in the world with annual sales of more than $3 million.
From the beginning stages, Joel and Michael divided responsibilities to cater to each other’s strengths. In many ways, their roles mirror those adopted by John and Susie: While Susie and Joel tended to be analytical and disciplined, focusing on administration and operations, Michael and John tended to be more creative and more likely than their partners to take a more improvisational approach to sales and marketing. In both cases, the chemistry worked.
The move formed an alliance between the two companies that continued for almost a decade. Dick and Susie Alexander possessed an understanding of the trade that complemented the O’Briens’ marketing and sales perspective. Dating back to 1924, Standard Printing evolved from a letterpress shop into a commercial sheet-fed printer with both 2- and 5-color presses. The Alexanders generously shared their knowledge with their new partners.
Shortly after their move, the Insty-Prints franchise was terminated. After that the company began doing business as Printing Partners. The franchise had become a detriment to a company that was evolving into a commercial printer. Overall, this marked the beginning of Printing Partners’ history.
In August 2000 the alliance between the two partners was formalized. Printing Partners purchased Alexander’s Standard Printing. The purchase brought together two diverse cultures. Blending the two created a stronger team. Many of the Standard employees, including Tim O’Brien and Lenard Brown, had been with the company since the early 1970s. All of them were craftsman and as such they set the quality standard for the new organization.
Throughout the 90s, the pace of technological change quickened. By the beginning of the new millennium, the speed and quality of digital printing had dramatically improved. Printing Partners history and offset printing saw the introduction of computer-to-plate technology which eliminated the use of film and the need for conventional stripping. As a result we enhanced quality and faster turn time.
The Printing Partners main building underwent major construction. Adding some much-needed space to accommodate our expanding divisions. The new space currently houses the shipping & receiving divisions. Also adding new loading docks, the mailing division, as well as storage of paper, supplies and customer products waiting for fulfillment.
The addition of a 40-inch press not only doubled our printable sheet size, but also enhanced quality. The new Kodak NexPress opened the door to commercial digital color, allowing for a broader range of quantity while also providing the new abilities of printing with dimensional ink and variable data.
By adopting the G7® standards, Printing Partners’ clients can be confident that the colors on their printed pieces will have a close visual appearance from proof-to-press and press-to-press.
Throughout 2010, Printing Partners employees invested significant time and effort in identifying work processes and procedures in anticipation of our ISO certification.
We received our ISO certification in November. This is pushing us towards our goals of continuous improvement through standardization and sustainability by reducing waste.
The Indianapolis School of Ballet nominated Printing Partners for The BCA 10: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in American for 2011. This award is presented by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America.
In October 2011, Printing Partners accepted the award, which stands proud in our front office today.
Printing Partners took a hard look in the mirror and decided it was time to upgrade its brand image. This change made a lasting change in Printing Partners history.
Three Sixty Group assisted in the creation of our clean, modern look.
Along with the rebranding, Partners Marketing was created to expand our services to clients even more with marketing strategies, tactics, design and implementation.
Adding to Printing Partners’ history, we installed the first 8‑color perfecting press in Indiana. The Heidelberg Speedmaster XL‑105 is a perfecting press that can print both sides of a sheet in a single pass, cutting some production times in half.
The Speedmaster XL presses are in a unique performance class and satisfy the most stringent demands in terms of both quality and productivity.
The Heildelberg Linoprint also increased the versatility of our digital printing capabilities by printing sheet sizes up to 13" x 27". This longer sheet size wasn't previously available in digital printing. It has also allowed us to offer variable data printing on sheet sizes too large for other digital printers.
This 8-color perfecting press utilizes UV ink. With intelligent automation, intuitive operation, top quality, and maximum productivity, the XL-106 allows us to offer top-notch quality at cost-effective prices.
Dried instantly with ultraviolet light, UV ink can be used on non-porous substrates like plastic. It also prevents smudging and produces more vibrant colors than traditional inks. Best of all, it has far fewer emissions of VOCs into the air. Safer for the environment.
Continuing the company’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and quality, Printing Partners converted the XL-105 originally purchased in 2014 to UV Ink, making us one of a select few printers who are running all our offset on UV Ink.
We’re thrilled to announce the installation of our new Heidelberg XL 106-8-P+L press! Replacing the old XL 105, this state-of-the-art machine is designed for exceptional precision and efficiency, ensuring that your print projects are delivered with unmatched quality and speed. It’s a significant upgrade that strengthens our commitment to providing you with the best in printing technology.
