All that’s fit to print

FAMILY ACT: Carmel Therien, right, president of B & M Printing of Cumberland, and her daughters Carissa Therien, left, a clerical and sales representative who handles pre-press and post-press operation, and Kayla (Therien) Marsh, who is in charge of graphic design and office management, view samples. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
FAMILY ACT: Carmel Therien, right, president of B & M Printing of Cumberland, and her daughters Carissa Therien, left, a clerical and sales representative who handles pre-press and post-press operation, and Kayla (Therien) Marsh, who is in charge of graphic design and office management, view samples. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Print struggles today as an industry, but B & M Printing, a family business, has stayed afloat by diversifying and making hard decisions, President Carmel Therien says.

Started in 1982 by her sister and brother-in-law, Bertrand and Marguerite Girard, the company originally operated out of the Girards’ basement. Therien worked there at age 18, in 1975. From 1985 to 2000, Therien left the business to raise her children, and the Girards added the trophy side of the business.

In 2005, Therien and her sister, Joyce Lafond, bought the company, but five years later, the Great Recession hit. Lafond, who had left Textron, returned to the corporate world because B & M Printing couldn’t support both partners, Therien said.

“Losing this business was not an option,” she said. “Believe me, there were nights I was up all night and days I wasn’t sure I could put the key in the door. A few big clients have helped me survive.”

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The outlet prints everything from booklets and invoices to business cards and letterheads. In 2012, after having acquired a couple of small companies, Therien bought McZip the Printer & Signs of Woonsocket.

Her daughter, Kayla Marsh, is in charge of graphic design and office management, while another daughter, Carissa Therien, is a clerical and sales representative and handles pre-press and post-press operations. Her brother, Robert Souliere, oversees awards, trophies and engraving, as well as post-press operations.

Formerly at McZip, Scott Generalao works in the sign and press departments, while Celeste Chretien is in charge of customer service.

The biggest challenge in trying times was cash flow, she added, but “close scrutiny of my numbers” ensures the business finances remain sound.

Despite the market challenges, Therien says she still believes in her customers.

“They’ll go to Vista Print or Staples but they’ll come back to me,” she said.

Diversifying is again in Therien’s sights, though she declined to say how.

“Printing is a dying business,” she said. “Unfortunately you hear it all the time. I just said to my daughter recently, if we could find another niche, one more opportunity. … I’m always looking for ways to grow the business and add new features that catch my clients’ eyes.”

Therien hopes to pass the business on to her daughters.

“The family business is the most wonderful thing I could have asked for,” she said. “It’s just a pleasure: the close relationships, and I love the employees I took from McZip.” •

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