From 1953 to today

Our history

Three generations, two continents, overcoming difficulties... the secret: passion for the Craft!

My name is Manuel, and I'm going to tell you my story. My interest in printing runs in my family. When my grandfather arrived in Cuba from Asturias, he started working on the guillotine in a printing press and eventually opened his own bookbinding workshop.

My father worked with my grandfather until he opened his printing shop in Havana at age 25, and emigrated to Spain at age 36. After losing everything, he started over and opened a printing shop in Madrid.

I spent many hours in my father's workshop, helping out where I could during my childhood and working, more seriously, while I was studying for my degree.

I finished my degree abroad and worked in fields outside the profession, related to the financial world. When I returned to Spain and after some time to stabilize my life, I decided to take over the family business and embark on a new path.

For La Imprenta Vintage, what is the Trade?

When you've lived almost literally in a printing press, the smell, the rhythmic sound of the machines, the feel of the different textures... forms a set of sensations, which, together with your family history, creates a very strong emotional bond.

Personally, it gives me something unique: a story to tell, a way to express myself, personal growth. It's putting value on something that has taken many years to learn.

The profession is more than just printing well, it is a 360º way of working that involves: effort, attention to detail, responsibility (with clients, workers and suppliers), humility to learn from elders, pride in a job well done, curiosity to try new things, order and generosity to share what you know.

What led me to set up La Imprenta Vintage

Since the late 1980s, the graphic arts have undergone a profound technological transformation. First, computer systems rendered thousands of forms, which for decades had been the basis of information management in companies, obsolete. Then came digital printing, which not only lowered printing costs but also empowered customers to produce their own printed material.

Given this scenario, when I decided to take over the family business, I saw no point in continuing to focus on the commercial printing my father's printing company had always done, meaning large print runs primarily in color. This required significant investments to be competitive and enter a price war with the competition. My decision then was to return to the roots of the trade. To do this, I had to secure financing, machinery, and a network of people and companies that would make this project compatible with my main activity in the financial world. Thankfully, I was able to do so and launched La Imprenta Vintage.

What makes Vintage Printing different?

"Preserving the Craft by producing and teaching" has been the driving idea that has been present from the beginning.

I would like anyone who comes to La Imprenta Vintage to see, above all, a passion for the craft, that their projects will be treated with care from our first greeting to the delivery of the finished work.

"Your ideas and our craft," I believe this phrase best defines our value proposition. Our focus is on execution, on doing things right, on making things happen in a timely manner, and on putting all our knowledge and resources into turning our clients' ideas into small works of art that will leave no one who receives them indifferent.

I believe that being educational, showing how things are made, and providing our clients with all the knowledge necessary to complete their order, gives the printed material a very human touch that increases its value. Today, with social media and mobile devices, details of the production process can be shared, and this enriches the final product.

Teaching the Craft means preserving the legacy of our elders and also giving new digital professionals the opportunity to better understand their present by sharing with them the origins of their profession.

At La Imprenta Vintage, along these lines, we have set up workshops and open days to begin teaching and raising awareness of the craft.

We have a network of senior talent that we'd love to connect with young professionals in a mutually beneficial way. I hope that at some point the circumstances we live in will change and we can launch this initiative. Follow us on social media to stay informed.

Vintage Printing is open to anyone who wants to join in: learn, collaborate, and even become a part of it. We're living in a time of networking, and it's increasingly important to work as a team and connect talent. If you think you have something to contribute... Welcome!

How we see the Trade in the future

If predicting the future is already difficult under normal conditions, the global pandemic situation we've experienced makes it even more challenging. What I do see are some trends that I think are here to stay.

Digital transformation. Digital alternatives have emerged for decades for a multitude of printed products, and this trend will continue primarily due to speed of production, cost, and ease of access. For this reason, print must assert its value as an object rather than merely as a transmitter of information.

Customer proximity. Both physical and virtual. We like to make things easy for our customers and believe that closeness and personal contact are key. Therefore, although our workshop is located in Alcobendas (Madrid), we have a meeting space in one of the most central and well-connected locations in Madrid. Another way to connect with our customers is through videoconferences. Teleworking, the implementation of which has been forced by the pandemic, has normalized virtual meetings, which, along with online purchasing, makes it possible to access a global market and serve our customers with close contact wherever they are.

"Low-Cost." Globalization, Asian mass production, and digital media, among other factors, have enabled a large majority of consumers to access consumer goods at prices unthinkable just a few years ago. Given this reality, there will always be minorities who buck this trend and value quality, personalized craftsmanship over disposable mass production.

Vintage Printing is an exciting project for all those who believe that paper is still important in our lives, that well-made things and soulful prints still have much to tell.