A staple in the St. John's business community will be shutting down its printing presses, after more than a century of operation.
Dicks & Co. will continue to operate its office supplies and other businesses, but is winding down its commercial printing press.
"We've seen our volumes shrink in the last number of years, and shrink significantly, so that we're not been able to bring it back - no matter what efforts we've made," chief executive officer James Austin says.
The digital age has slashed printing operations worldwide, and Austin said many local businesses can satisfy their needs with their own computers and printers. As well, larger printing companies have been gobbling up extra market share.
Dicks will stop the presses on July 31.
Press worker John Hannams said the bad news is still sinking in.
"It was not a shock but a disappointment. I sort of — and we all sort of — thought that this day might soon be coming," he said.
Austin said the company had lost more than two thirds of the volume of printing work that it used to handle 20 years ago.
Austin said while Dicks will carry on, the end of a core business is a big loss.
"It wasn't a happy day to make the announcement or make the decision before the announcement, but it was something we had to do," he said.
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