On September 15, The Paper Tiger’s printing press, Fricke Parks Press, announced that it was shutting down on October 29 after 51 years of business. President Dave Brown gave this information in a letter to customers. He wrote “the newspaper printing industry has been in decline for quite a while and it continues to shrink with each passing year. Additionally, the pool of those with experience in or a desire to learn the art of printing wanes while many of us are near or have surpassed the age of retirement.”
The press, located in Union City, CA, was founded in 1976 by Bob Parks when he bought out Carl Fricke’s web press shop, keeping his name as part of the title. In 2001, FP became an employee-owned company. Fricke Parks is a family-run operation and many of its employees have worked there for a long time, cultivating a community-oriented spirit around the company. In addition, by printing on recyclable paper with environmentally friendly ink, the company has been an environmentally-conscious choice for customers.
The Paper Tiger will now be printed by Folger Graphics in Hayward, which also prints the school newspapers of The Urban School of San Francisco and The Nueva School.
