Employees were notified Thursday of the company’s sale to Think Patented for an undisclosed price, said Jeanne Lampe, CEO and president of 3G Graphic Solutions, a Springfield-based umbrella of printing companies.
The fate of remaining employees is undecided, according to Patrick Martin, 3G’s chief operating officer.
“We will assist them in any possible way,” Lampe said.
A statement from Think Patented CEO Kenneth O. McNerney indicated that all of Miller’s sales and customer service employees will join the Miamisburg company.
Miller Printing, 581 W. Leffel Lane, is the largest of 3G’s companies, which employ 45 people as a whole. Its other three divisions — Barrett Brothers Legal Publishers, Visual Education and Armstrong Instant Print — will remain in Springfield.
In 2011, 3G divested itself of Rhoades Paper Box and Springfield Packaging.
Lampe, 58, cited a desire to eventually retire, along with challenges in the commercial printing industry, as reasons for the sale.
“It was a very, very difficult decision,” she said Thursday. “I’m third-generation. My fourth generation has her own career, and there’s really no interest in getting into the business.”
Amy Donahoe, director of hiring and employer services for the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber will assist WorkPlus of Clark County in relocating any laid-off Miller Printing employees to other jobs.
“We’ve appreciated everything they’ve done for the community,” Donahoe said of Miller Printing. “We’ll continue to work with Ms. Lampe and her other businesses.”
The commercial printing industry is facing challenges, Martin said, including the rise of Internet-based printing companies such as Vistaprint and alternative sources of advertising online.
“There’s no other printer that could’ve absorbed us in Springfield,” he said.
Existing work will be completed in-house at Miller Printing, but new orders will transition to Think Patented. Most transferred employees will start Monday in Miamisburg, Lampe said.
“We got together on the deal, and it’s a great deal for them and a terrific deal for me,” she said.
There are no plans to sell the three remaining divisions of 3G, Lampe said.
Barrett Brothers Legal, a Springfield printing business established back in 1860, publishes everything from tax forms and absentee ballots to traffic tickets and dog licenses. It merged with 3G in 1983.
Visual Education, or Vis-Ed, a Dayton business that 3G bought in 1974, specializes in publishing school study cards.
Lampe has been with 3G for 33 years and has been at the family company’s helm since 1995.
“I am looking toward my retirement,” she said, “and I decided I wanted to have some time to myself for a change. I’m tired of the day-to-day rat race.”
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