Photo by Deb Gau Charlie Stark and Mike Henle stand in the press room at Henle Printing in Marshall. As of Jan. 1, Stark became the new owner of the business, but Henle said he plans to stay through the end of March to help Stark in the transition.

MARSHALL — Commercial printing was the family business for three generations, Mike Henle said.

“This company’s been going for 40 years,” said Henle, the owner of Henle Printing in Marshall. Over the decades, Henle said he’s gotten to know customers like friends. But now, he said, it’s time for a new chapter in his life.

Since Jan. 1, Henle Printing in Marshall has been under new ownership, although Henle said he’s staying on until the end of March, to help new owner Charlie Stark in the transition.

Charlie and his son Ben Stark also own and operate a print shop in the Dinkytown neighborhood of Minneapolis. However, he said things aren’t going to change at Henle Printing — even the name is staying the same.

“It was exactly what we were looking for,” Henle said. He wanted a new owner he could pass on the business to, and keep it going as printing technology changes. “I believe Charlie and I have the same vision.”

The Henle family’s history in the printing business goes back to 1926, when A.J. Henle, Mike’s grandfather, started the Monthly Magnet newspaper in Lyon County. A.J. Henle and his sons Larry and Ray would go on to found the weekly Lyon County Independent newspaper, as well as a commercial printing company. The Henles sold the newspaper in 1973, but A.J. and Ray Henle were back in the printing business by the 1980s, with Henle Speedy Print.

Mike started working with his father and grandfather at Henle Speedy Print when he was a teenager. He went on to become owner of the business, which was renamed Henle Printing Company in 1989. By 2005, the business had outgrown its original location and moved to a 10,000 square-foot building on Jewett Street. Henle Printing currently has nine full-time employees, and operates both offset printing presses and digital presses, Henle said.

In deciding to sell the printing business, Henle said, “I wanted the company to be successful in the future.” Among potential buyers, the Starks were a good fit, he said.

Both Henle and Charlie Stark have had long careers in printing.

“I’ve been in printing since I was 13,” Stark said. After college, Stark said he continued to work in the industry, doing composition and customer service work for some larger businesses, including Shakopee Valley Printing and the Merrill Corporation.

When Stark decided he wanted to get out of the corporate world, “I found a little shop across from the U of M,” he said.

Stark said his print shop in Minneapolis will stay separate from Henle Printing. The two businesses tend to have different customers, Stark and Henle said. Henle Printing does more large print runs, Stark said.

“The shop in Minneapolis is a lot more foot traffic,” he said.

Even with the difference in their businesses’ size and types of customers, Henle and Stark said it was a good match.

“Henle Printing is bigger than my current company,” Stark said. Buying the business “gave us a way to expand, without actually having to build a building in Minneapolis or St. Paul.”

Stark is currently living in Marshall, but he does make regular trips back to Minneapolis.

Stark said things aren’t going to change at Henle Printing — even the name will stay the same. However, he said, “We are going to look at what the future is for print.” New printing technology continues to develop and change.

“Eventually, I see it going to high speed inkjet printing and variable data printing,” Stark said. Variable data printing uses digital technology to make more customized prints. For example, printed materials like mail advertisements could be tailored to individual customers, he said.

“The future is going to be so much more in personalization,” Henle said. The decision to sell his business went along with a new chapter in technology, as well as a new chapter in his own life.

Henle said it’s not yet certain what he’ll be doing in that new chapter, but he wants to help people.

“My plan is to help small printing companies, and consult with them,” he said. Many small printers work long hours doing what they love, but still struggle to make a profit. Henle said he hopes that maybe he could use his experience to help.

Henle said Marshall has been “an incredible community” in which to raise a family, build a business and develop friendships. He said the goal was always to try to help the community, be good to customers, and do the right thing.

“It really turned out pretty cool,” Henle said.