Several readers sent along some sad news from Milo Printing at 199 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street...
To All of our Valued Customers
I regret to have to inform you that we will be closing Milo Printing today. After 99 years of great success we can no longer compete in today's business environment. I want to thank all of you for your business and support over the years.
We will keep our e-mail active for the next 60 days and if we can be of any assistance to you concerning art work files please let us know. I will try to do whatever is possible to provide any files we may have here for your future printing needs
Again thank you all for the many years of business.
Steve Michaels
Milo Printing
And we continue to lose our retail diversity on Avenue A — and elsewhere...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Of the 147 storefronts on Avenue A, 70 of them are bars, restaurants or vacant
Went in to say goodbye to Steve yesterday; he told me his partner is holding on to the storefront for an extended period to use as storage, so no worries about another bar. He said his business was killed by Vistaprint and cheaper Chinatown printers, forcing him to move on to another line of work. He's resigned, but bummed, of course. Me, too. Milo always did great, reasonable work for me and so many others.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, Lisa.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see small local businesses like this die because of things like Vistaprint and impersonal online quickie printing services. Technology is killing the small business owner and the printing industry is being hit hard.
ReplyDeleteMarty - I don't agree with the generalization that technology is killing small businesses. Technology, particularly the internet, has allowed the flow of information to be more democratized and allowed small local businesses to market themselves through channels like facebook, twitter, blogs, youtube, and specialized sites.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Milo Printing since I don't need any printing services, but it always saddens me when a beloved small business no longer can remain open. However, it looks like demand was down for their services because total demand is down and others could do it more efficiently. Businesses like this need to keep up with innovations within the industry, and unfortunately, they could not.
They had a great run. It would be great if they could start another business in that space. Whatever they do, best of luck to the guys.
ReplyDeletejesus christ it's like a f*ckin genocide of native new yorkers!
ReplyDelete@anon 3:28pm: I hear what you're saying, but I've worked in the printing industry for over 20 years and technology (for better or worse) has killed all kinds of work within it and outside of it. Typesetting, film stripping, small print runs, etc. and marketing through the internet isn't going to bring back any of that. A lot of the services that small mom and pop printers provide (business cards, brochures, post cards, invitations, etc.) can now be done through the internet or by using a printer at home.
ReplyDeleteI tried to give this place business but I went in and dealt with some heavy guy who was so surly. There wasn't anyone else in the shop but it was like he couldn't be bothered with me. When he finally got round to giving me a price quote I almost passed out. I went further downtown and found a place that offered the same cards a lot cheaper so I gave them my business.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the previous poster, I had pretty much the same experience. I live around the corner and went over there for some business cards, figuring it is best to give a local biz my business even if it does cost a bit more but customer service isn't exactly that guy's strong suit. Maybe he is an employee and not an owner. I don't know. But at this time when you're in a dying business and you've got cheaper competition on the 'Net you've got to give people a reason to patronize your business.
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ReplyDeleteThis is sad news indeed. I owned Milo Printing from 1991 to 1996. My partner at the time and I bought it from Frank Milo, son of the original owner, who was then in his 70's. Neither of us knew the printing business well, but were enamored by the tin ceilings, the letterpress machine from the 1920’s, the ceramic statue of a saint, the old frames on the walls filled with samples of work, and the design and printing possibilities the shop and its vintage equipment held. There was no prouder former owner than Frank, who would check in weekly during those years to be sure we were ‘doing things right’. When he would come into the city, he’d go to see his friends -- to get his cheese, his meat and his bread to take back to New Jersey – from small businesses that no longer survive in the East Village. Milo Printing was the place to go in the neighborhood for whatever printed materials were needed -- wedding invites, funeral cards, birth announcements, restaurant menus, business cards, rubber stamps, and resumes. Lots of people and personalities came through those doors over the years, including the love of my life who walked in one day to order stationary. Though my involvement with Milo Printing ended almost 15 years ago, I do treasure that time and feel honored to have been part of East Village history. My hat is off to Steve and Gary for continuing the Milo legacy for as long as they could. And here’s to Hugo Milo for starting a business that endured on Avenue A for 99 years.
ReplyDeleteI got my first letterhead at Milo Printing when I was in my teens, so that's the late 1970s or so. A nice fellow with thick, steel gray hair told me how he'd make a plate from the letterhead I made using rub-off Letraset. (I used the LCD letter font, which hadn't yet been on watches for long.) Thinking back, Milo Printing made more of a metal stamp than a plate, so now I wonder if I got a rubber stamp.
ReplyDeleteSometime during the 1990s or early 2000s, Milo Printing's corner location closed and they moved to a storefront down the street. I wanted plastic business cards so I went in and asked for them. The fellow said "No" and when I pressed further, expecting a friendly shopkeeper to offer further comment, he said "No" rudely. They used to like business card talk back in the day. Oh, well, people get grumpy.
If the owners at Milo Printing were without income after losing the price competition, I'd be sad for them. When they moved down the block, I guessed they were jobbing their work out to a larger printer. That's not a bad business to be in.