Headfirst Printing Draws Clients in Plymouth's Old Village

Chances are, if you’ve strolled downtown this month you might have seen signs announcing Santa Claus’ arrival at or if you’ve frequented Plymouth’s Old Village you’ve seen the Old Village logo emblazoned on the front of residents’ shirts.

These, as well as official attire for several local businesses, including and , have been printed at , a new shop tucked away on Davis Street, a quiet Old Village street.

Patrick Kelleher, the proprietor of the small business, set up shop Sept. 1 after building his Headfirst brand building websites and helping with marketing for area businesses.

“It’s what I have known,” he said of printing. “I grew up around print and I came back to that.”

He is joined by business partner Tony Sebastian. Both are members of Plymouth’s Old Village Association, a networking group that regularly meets in the area to discuss business and neighborhood issues. Bryan Patton rounds out the team by manning the presses.

Doing business in Plymouth — specifically in Old Village — was important, Kelleher said.

“This is a great area, a great community,” he said. “Not just Old Village, but Plymouth as a whole, I love being in this area.”

Kelleher said the location is good for him, too, because he can walk to work.

At Headfirst Printing, Kelleher designs and prints logos via both screen-printing and dye sublimation processes. The latter process eliminates the plastic-like texture often associated with screen-printing by coloring the fabric itself. Headfirst has one six-color screen-printing press in its shop.

Kelleher said he has built clients in the area even before setting up shop, printing signage for July’s upscale car exhibit at , and has continued to print for a variety of neighboring businesses and organizations.

Kelleher said his shop has made an effort to reduce toxic waste often created by printing materials.

“One thing I’ve always hated about print is there’s just so nasty chemicals involved,” he said.

He said the company utilizes soy bean-based screen-cleaning and shop-cleaning chemicals.

“I think it’s one of the coolest things we have,” he said.