It’s a transition of nearly half a dozen years for one of Port Townsend’s oldest businesses.

Printery Communications, at 631 Tyler St. in Uptown Port Townsend, is ringing in 50 years of service with its new president and CEO, Nicole Mason, stepping in for its outgoing owner, Mike Kenna.

“I’ve been working for the Printery since 2018,” Mason said. “In 2019, I started talking with Mike, because he knew he wanted to retire.”

Mason said her time at the Printery has served her well in her new role, since she began working there as a bookkeeper, before moving into production and management.

“I’ve been able to learn the ins and outs of the business, from the financial side to production,” Mason said. “It’s given me a unique opportunity to get to know the company’s culture and employees. I’m personally invested in the Printery’s success.”

Mason even wrote up a business plan for the company, which she submitted to Kenna, which assessed its position within the market, in addition to identifying ways in which the Printery could grow as a business.

Mason, who said she has “grown to love” the Printery’s work, staff and connections to the surrounding community, brings 20 years of bookkeeping experience to bear in her new job. She also has retail management experience co-owning Sea Change Cannabis in Port Hadlock with her husband.

“Connecting expenses and balances always felt as fascinating as untangling a mystery to me,” Mason said. “And I’ve been fortunate enough to see firsthand people who were passionate about the companies they were running, which makes it even more exciting for me now that I’m running a company that I’m passionate about.”

Mason also made sure to pay attention to what sorts of policies and procedures have been put in place by effective managers she’s worked with, and made sure to involve herself in human resources at the Printery prior to Kenna’s departure.

Mason expressed confidence in the crew of employees she’s inherited from Kenna and enthusiasm for the Printery’s equipment, including its five-color Heidelberg printing press. She touted its high-volume capacity and its use of ink rather than digital printing, which she asserted makes it more efficient and effective.

Mason also gushed over the quality of the Printery’s binding, cutting and ability to produce posters and banners. She said the company draws business from throughout Jefferson County and across the region, with clients ranging from Kitsap Mental Health Services to the United Way of King County.

“We also do all the ballots for Jefferson County,” Mason said.

“We really focus on quality control to ensure the envelopes and the forms inside line up right. We’re not just a little copy shop,” she laughed.

Even so, Mason believes the Printery is more than capable of significantly expanding its scope of services. Its current staff of about nine employees is far less than its pre-pandemic number, when it employed between 20 and 30.

“We’re looking into offering more retail services, including office supplies, in about six months or so,” Mason said. “We’re also exploring custom apparel and sustainable packaging.”

Mason said she is grateful to the loyalty of the Printery’s longtime employees, some of whom have been with the business for decades. She called out Todd Morrison as its creative director and designer.

“I graduated from Port Townsend High School in 1999, so I hope folks take heart from seeing a local person take over a local business,” Mason said. “You can live in a small town and still have a satisfying career with a good company.”