Company Information

History

The original owner of Custom Printers, Jay Poley, began his printing career in 1934 as an errand boy at Grand Rapids Printing Company. As time went on, he joined W. A. Miller Company in 1944 as a partner and printing superintendent. During that time he became friends with Henry VanderBreggen, who ran a small print shop out of his garage. In the fall of 1946 Jay left his current establishment so he and Henry could start Custom Printers in an underground garage in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Despite a shoe string budget they managed to keep two small presses and a paper cutter very busy. A year later they found themselves in need of more room primarily. In October of 1947 they moved to a building at 200 Wealthy Street in downtown Grand Rapids. They utilized a steady flow of income from the business to invest in new and improved equipment.

The business continued to grow and in 1966 they built a new building at 1203 Butterworth Avenue. Unfortunately Henry suffered a stroke, and soon after cancer emerged and he was no longer able to work. Jay continued to run the business himself, but after time it became apparent that this was a difficult task. In 1971 Jay considered closing the business. Then a friend told him about a Calvin College graduate, Jerry Van Veen. Jerry had never thought about printing as an occupation, but Jay approached him with an offer. Jerry made it very clear that he would take the job with the understanding that it was only temporary. Jay began teaching Jerry about the printing business and unknowingly, Jay was grooming Jerry to take over the business. Shortly thereafter, Henry passed away and Jay became the sole owner of Custom Printers.

Two years later Jay drew up a letter of agreement offering Jerry first opportunity to purchase Custom Printers when he retired. In 1979, when Jay turned 65, he honored his agreement and Jerry purchased the business. Two years prior to that they where also joined by Jerry’s brother Frank, who shares in the operation of the business to this day. Jay Poley continued to be active in the business well into the late 1990’s. He still stops by today hoping for a golf game, which he still plays well for such a young guy.

In 1983, Jerry’s first major decision was to move the company to a larger facility located at 245 Fuller Avenue. After eleven more years it became apparent once again that a move to a larger facility was necessary. In 1994 Custom Printers moved into its current location, a specially designed, state-of-the-art printing facility at 2801 Oak Industrial Drive in Grand Rapids.

Today Custom Printers is one of the larger printing companies in Western Michigan, capable of handling any sheet-fed printing project from one to six-color with varying sheet sizes up to 28" X 40". Custom Printers excels in customer service to provide the highest level of quality at competitive market prices. Jerry still believes in Jay’s philosophy of keeping overhead low and the best possible equipment on the floor. These ideals keep Custom Printers competitive in the marketplace and a blessed company overall.

Community Involvement

Custom Printers believes in giving back to the community. For years we have printed literature at little or no cost, donated items and our personnel have assisted with golf tournaments, fund raisers and various community sponsored events. We give faithfully to the United Way and our employees donate money every year to Santa Girls in lieu of a Christmas gift for Jerry Van Veen. We also adopt a family at Christmas to make their holiday more memorable.