Mitchell Press (Burnaby, BC), a commercial printer and a Canadian leader and award-winner in environmental initiatives, has acquired the assets of another award-winner – North West Book Operating Company (NWB), a custom bindery located in Bellingham, Washington. In business since 1928, Mitchell Press remains a family-owned creative print and communications partner. For the second straight year, the shop was ranked No. 3 among North America’s top printers by Canopy.org for its ongoing commitments to sustainable practices.
Founded in 1960 and operated by Master Book Binder Tom Strohhacker, NWB was a force in high-end, award-winning case binding and custom box making for decades. Strohhacker’s untimely passing shocked the North Amercian printing industry, and NWB closed its doors in December of 2018. Long-time friends and collaborators of NWB initiated the acquisition. Mitchell Press will immediately bring perfect binding in-house, and dramatically expand its bookmaking and custom fabric-wrapped box fabrication value-added services. This expansion of highly customized finishing options supports Mitchell Press’ offset and digital print services, “setting Mitchell Press apart from any commercial printer in Canada and the Pacific Northwest,” the company added.
“I’ve had a long relationship with high-end custom books and influencer packaging,” said Scott Gray, VP of Sales and Marketing at Mitchell Press. “North West Book was always my secret weapon; they were critical to the success of so many award-winning and impactful projects. We are so honoured and excited to have acquired the assets and know-how of North West, and to carry the tradition forward with our team’s deep knowledge and creativity. We’ve been working really hard to provide the finest experiences to our clients with every project we collaborate on. Just this past three years has seen incredible growth in our suite of digital and non-traditional value-added services. This latest move is a game-changer for marketing communicators,” Gray pointed out.
In another positive move, Master Book Binder Claus Larsen also recently re-joined Mitchell Press to expand its in-house custom-finishing services. “I’m really excited to join the Mitchell Press family, to work with our exceptionally talented team, and to share my decades of experience in creating custom, fabric-bound books, influencer boxes, employee recognition programs and anything else our clients can dream of,” Larsen said.
Mitchell Press acquires assets of North West Bookbinding and welcomes Claus Larsen
