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A short history of Shipman Print Solutions...

      The man in the center of the photo is Jacob Wahl, who along with his sons Elmore and Gordon (left and right), set up shop as the Wahl Printing & Binding Company in downtown Niagara Falls, NY. The year was 1905 and armed with a formidable arsenal of two hand-fed presses, just fifty fonts, a few hundred sheets of paper and a bicycle for transportation of goods and products between sales calls, Jacob's company thrived and grew for some 60 years.

   Frank Shipman

       In 1966, a young Frank Shipman, at the encouragement of his father Everett, moved from Ohio and joined rival firm Byron Human Printing Company, where he set himself to learning all aspects of that business while earning $125 a week. Two years later, the Shipmans purchased the Wahl Printing Company and changed the name to Human Wahl Printing before adding the Shipman Envelope Co. in 1981 to expand its market to independent distributors. Further expansion in 1984 added cutsheets, increased envelope sizes and commercial print capabilities, all under the new title Shipman Printing Industries, which was now located on Niagara Falls Boulevard near Wheatfield NY.

Gary Blum

     In 1999, nearing retirement and hoping to pass along his company to someone of a like mind who would keep the business family-run and local, Frank found sharp local entrepreneur and multi-business owner Gary Blum, who bought the company in 2000. In keeping with Frank Shipman's original vision, Gary has kept the company a solid fixture in Western New York and has continued to invest in the company's growth. After many more upgrades, equipment acquisitions, refinements and expansions, the company was renamed Shipman Print Solutions and moved to its current location on Lendell Road in Sanborn, N.Y., in May of 2012. The new building boasts more than double the area of the previous facility. Upon the retirement of company president Rick Faiola in 2020, Sales Vice President, Mike Fiore was promoted to President of the company. Gary's son, Greg Blum was promoted to Executive Vice President.

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Mike Fiore

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