A family-owned business for more than 50 years, Bexley Copy Shop recently moved to its third location in Bexley since it opened in the community right along with its following of loyal customers.

Begun in 1950 in the basement of his home in south Columbus, owner Bill Schubert worked out of that residence for 10 years. In 1960, he moved to Berwick and continued his home operations.

He also worked for the state of Ohio and retired in 1979. "We then came upstairs," he said. "We found a building and never looked back. I wanted to see what would happen."

Schubert proceeded to open a custom printing shop at 543 S. Drexel Avenue, now the site of Joyce Studio, and he stayed there "for 17 years. He later moved across the street for five years to 540 S. Drexel, once a postal office and now the future home of Art Access, an art gallery.

Schubert said he moved again to his new location because the property owner wanted a business that complemented other similar businesses in the area.

"The property owner was very gentlemanly and gave us all the time we needed to find another location," Schubert said.

On July 27, Bexley Copy moved to the Bexley Square strip, 2226 E. Main St., the former site of a lighting /illuminations business.

Schubert, a widower, has a son, Bill Jr., who joined the operation in about 1988. He has another son, Richard, a landscaper, and two grandchildren.

Schubert, 74, a widower since 1992, has thought about retiring but has no plans to do so. "I like what I do," he said. "I like the people. It is a pleasure to get up to come to work."

Schubert serves a mostly Bexley residents. Some have moved to other areas outside Bexley and still ask him to do printing, such as postcard and meeting notices. Some of his customers are multigenerational. He knew the parents, and now serves their children. "Most of our business is repeat," Schubert said. "One customer we've had for 45 years."

His clients include Capital University, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, the city of Bexley, several synagogues in the area, and local businesses and residents.

Clients come inside to make copies more a convenience, Schubert said. Quality printing is his forte and includes items such as programs and rosters. "I can do almost anything, "he said, "from the size of a postcard to an 1" by 18' job."

Printing is different now, Schubert said. His brother-inlaw gave him a 1932 printer that was operated by manpower it had to be pedaled. It's still at Schubert's home. "I' ll probably be buried with it," he said.
He also remembered that when he began, the type had to be set with tweezers. "There has been many changes over the years, and we have tried to change with it," he said. "We feel we are pretty complete and more or less self-contained."

Schubert said his business fills a niche. "So many of the big printers don't want to bother with a small job arid people come to us," he said.

Bexley Service Director Dorothy Pritchard, who has been with the city for more than 15 years, said the company has printed various pieces for Bexley. "We have always admired the business as being very efficient, courteous and friendly to work with," she said.

This article was adapted from a piece that originally appears in ThisWeek Bexley, and was written by Ina Horwitz-Whitmore.