Jimmy Hanna has been around the harbor for a long time. He came to Boothbay Harbor in 1972 to play guitar and sing at Rocktide Inn for two nights. He never left.

He continued to perform at Rocktide until 1976. Hanna still plays his music, but in 1983 he started a new business in Boothbay Center, Prints Charming Printers.

That business is still going strong. Hanna, a printer since childhood in his family's business, with over 40 years experience in printing and graphics, is still at the helm.

Hanna trained at Rochester Institute of Technology and holds a degree in printing, graphic arts and production.

Hanna recently moved out of the office he has been running his business affairs from, and now works from his home, in Boothbay.

The business is still flourishing, putting out top-of-the-line graphics and printed materials. “I want people to know I haven't retired. We're still in the printing business, and we still have two printing plants — one in the Alna region and one in Augusta.”

Hanna said most of his clients are from out of state, predominantly New York City. “Huge clients — Time Warner Cable, Scholastic, the New York Philharmonic, Manhattan School of Music, The American Museum of Natural History, Ms. Foundation for Women, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and Estée Lauder. We're one of the best kept secrets in the region.”

He got his start in a plant in Waldoboro, before moving it to Boothbay. A man from New York City who had just bought a summer home in the area came in and started looking at samples of Hanna's work on the wall. He asked who did it. Hanna told him it was his. “He said he had printing done in New York City every week, and never got anything this good, and asked me to start doing some of his printing.”

After around six months his phone started ringing off the hook — friends of friends who had had work done by Hanna.

Presently he was approached by a representative from Scholastic, one of the largest nonprofits in the world. Hanna said he has been doing its printing for 25 years.

Most of Hanna’s clients have their own designers, but he is equipped with graphic designers for anyone who needs help. There are around 100 employees between the two plants.

“I love printing,” Hanna said. “I used to do smaller jobs here in Boothbay, and there were always people coming through the door.”

In the last couple years much of his business has been done through email and phone, so foot traffic is no longer a factor, and the need for a base of business has diminished. “And faxes — everybody used to fax,” he said. “Nobody uses faxes any more. And nobody needs copies any more.” Now most everything comes through emails as pdfs.

Hanna said he's working on a job now for the Kimberly Hotel, a five-star hotel in Manhattan. The hotel has been a client for 20 years. “It's one of the 100 top hotels in the country,” he said.

Prints Charming Printers does a lot of specialized printing processes, including die cutting and foil embossing,

One of Hanna's biggest clients is Renaissance Greeting Cards. “We do state of the art printing,” he said. “We're one of the top 100 printers in the country.

“And we're extremely competitive, cost-wise.”

Prints Charming Printers will take care of most businesses’ needs: rack cards, letterheads and envelopes, business cards, catalogues and brochures. “Anything that has to do with printing,” Hanna said. “We do wide-format printing, banners and posters for people who are going to trade shows.

“If you're looking for the best banner money can buy, that's beautiful, quality, mounted on materials that will hold up outside, we're here. We're all about quality, service and price.”

Hanna said it's important to him that local people know he hasn't left the area. “I keep running into people who say, 'Jimmy, you retired. Who's going to do our printing?

“I'm still in business,” he said. “And I will come to you if that's what you need. The only thing that has changed is that we don't have an office in Boothbay anymore. You have a project? Give me a call and we'll discuss your project.”

Call 207-633-6663 or mail@printscharmingprinters.com.