The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce spotlight for June is West Bend Printing & Publishing, Inc. …publishers of the West Bend News in Antwerp, Ohio.
Bryce and Angel Steiner are the owners of West Bend Printing & Publishing which was established in July 2005. West Bend News published its first edition on August 31, 2005. Bryce’s motivation began in 1995 when he was working for Courier Printing Company in Grabill, IN. He found that he enjoyed printing on the presses, doing prepress design work, and working on the layout for the East Allen Courier newspaper. He had been working there for about 10 years when he and his wife Angel were convicted to move to Antwerp to live in the community in which they went to church. They also thought it would be the perfect time to branch out and start a business of their own. They attended church at Riverside Christian Church (known then as Antwerp church of Christ) then, and started talking to some friends who live in Antwerp (Steve and Sue Knapp) about starting a business. Knapp’s were thinking of ways to spend their retirement. It seemed like a good fit for the two couples to partner together to start a printing company and newspaper in Paulding County Ohio – Antwerp in particular. Steve decided to retire from West Bend in 2010, and Sue followed him a few years later. Angel and Bryce bought out their portion of the business as well as the building. Angel has been writing and reporting since high school where she was on the newspaper staff for four years as a staff writer, feature editor, and editor-in-chief.
West Bend Printing & Publishing can fulfill all of your business and personal printing needs. They use several different mediums to print on – paper, waterproof paper, metal, corrugated plastic, ACM, and PVC, among others. WBPP also prints banners large and small including the popular outdoor wind mesh banners. Need letterhead, business cards, fliers, notepads, invitations, envelopes, carbonless forms, brochures? WBPP has you covered. The design team and production department can get you what you need and get it done fast. West Bend Printing & Publishing is also the publisher of the West Bend News weekly newspaper. West Bend News is among the last of the locally owned newspapers in the tri-state area. WBN publishes approximately 4,500 newspapers a week that is distributed to over 200 pick up locations in NW Ohio and NE Indiana – as far north as Bryan, OH as far south as Van Wert, OH, as far west as New Haven and Fort Wayne, IN and as far east as Continental, OH.
West Bend Printing is known for getting custom print job back to customers in a quick turnaround time. They believe in customer satisfaction which includes a timely completion date. West Bend News motto is “Good News for Good Communities”. They are a community-driven newspaper that encourages businesses, schools and organizations to submit their news to us and we will publish it to the public. Bryce states that “It is important to keep our focus on the Good this world has to offer, there’s enough bad news everywhere else, we will let the other news outlets cover that.”
What makes West Bend different from many other news and printing businesses in the area is that it is a family-owned and operated small business. There are 5 full-time employees, 3 free-lance photographers, and 5 free-lance newspaper writers. The owners and employees work and live in the community it serves. “We are your neighbors, we are your friends. Having this level of personal touch is paramount in an age that is becoming remote and AI influenced.” states Angel. If you want quality work, done with quality care, completed in a timely manner and affordable in an ever-challenging economy see the staff at West Bend Printing.
What keeps customers coming back to West Bend Printing is their dedication to striving to work to perfection for the customer. Sometimes this doesn’t happen, but if the customer isn’t completely satisfied with the completed product, WBPP will do everything they can to make it right for the customer. When you walk into the business you can expect a warm welcome. WBN is the only commercial printing company that is locally owned in Paulding County Ohio and the only locally owned newspaper in the NW Ohio area. The staff at West Bend can make your idea come to life, help you market your business, provide office essentials and essentials for events. If they are unable to serve your needs, they will point you in the right direction to get your job done.
One anecdote about the business that many people don’t know has to do with inserts in the newspaper. Going back to this is a family-owned business… occasionally there are inserts in the newspaper, and in the early days of West Bend News, they had to insert each newspaper by hand. Bryce and Angel have four children, so they would enlist each of them to help insert into the newspapers before school (at that time 10,000 newspapers were printed each week). They would be paid 25 cents for every bundle they inserted (bundles have 100 newspapers in them). The kids made it a competition. Oh, and Steve bought donuts, that was their favorite part of insert mornings.
Bryce and Angel are most proud that they navigated through the hardest part of owning a business, the treacherous waters of the first 5 years. Those years were hard for a young family – especially the weeks when there wasn’t a pay check to go around. But with their prevailing faith that God is good all the time, they persevered and kept attending community events and school functions, and volunteering in their community and donating to local fundraisers and organizations, and now 19 years later, West Bend Printing has become a staple to many local businesses and organizations for designing and printing, and news publication.
The Steiner’s are most passionate about is keeping business local. WBPP sources all of our supplies as locally as possible because we understand the importance of supporting small business. Shopping online may save a few pennies here and there, but that kind of thinking is what turns thriving communities into ghost towns. Shop local, support your neighbors.
A little know secret is that the papers is not printed here in Antwerp. A newspaper press is as large as the existing building! All other printing projects are done on the many machines housed in our building here in Antwerp. There are probably more options than you think about your printing project you have in mind. There are numerous paper options, color of paper options, fonts, and sign mediums to choose from, so be ready to deliberate and ask questions.
In July 2024, WBPP will have completed 19 years in business. Look for some upgrades to the website coming soon focusing more on the West Bend’s printing division. Commercial printing is the majority of the business, and West Bend News completes the business triangle – Print – Advertising – Design.
Owning a small business, especially one that was created from nothing, is not for the faint of heart. It takes ambition, a positive attitude, faith, perseverance, aka the good old “blood, sweat and tears”.
The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with West Bend Printing & Publishing in the growth of Antwerp and the surrounding community. Congratulations on 19 years in business.