Allen Mechling, President
Marla Mechling, Vice President
Since that time, Mechling Bookbindery has grown into a 10,000-square-foot full-scale manufacturing facility that offers a unique range of printing-binding-publishing-restoration services to its customers. It boasts a skilled team of dedicated workers who the Mechling’s call their “second family,” and that personal approach extends to every one of the company’s clients.
The binding and restoration shop still uses some antique equipment, along with fine leathers and archival quality papers to make a product with time-tested quality that endures. Mechling Bookbindery blends this with the use of modern technology—including the latest graphic design software and state-of-the-art digital printing—to produce books and print other works with the most innovative techniques available on the market today.
Firefly Publications, the company’s catalog of western Pennsylvania history books and CDs, has grown to over 500 titles. It includes a full-bodied and fascinating selection of county and family histories, church and cemetery records, Civil War/military titles, and railroad and oil histories, as well as comprehensive accounts of Pennsylvania’s past.
While maintaining its solid past, Mechling Bookbindery continues to expand and embrace future trends. Capitalizing on innovations in the printing process, Mechling has expanded its service offerings to include self-publishing for individual authors. This branch of the company’s publishing arm affords individuals a turn-key service—from manuscript preparation to finished product to promotional support. Responding to market demand, Mechling can also format its author’s books for electronic reading devices such as Sony Reader and Amazon’s Kindle.
The company has plans to continue its firm, steady growth for decades
The whole notion of starting a publishing company serendipitously began in 1995 when Al and Marla Mechling purchased a book to record their family tree. This hobby gradually developed into a garage-based business, equipped with a few antique pieces of machinery and tools. Their interest in genealogy led to collecting old county histories, then rebinding and restoring them.
It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. As Marla and Al’s newfound passion grew, the need to find genealogy research materials motivated them to assemble a repository of new and reprinted books devoted to western Pennsylvania history and genealogy for other researchers, and then to publishing.
1.800.941.3735 724.287.2120
1124 Oneida Valley Road, Chicora, PA 16025-3820
© 2011 Mechling Bookbindery
BOOKS...MADE TO ORDER
WHY MECHLING IS DIFFERENT?
In spite of its successful growth, Mechling Bookbindery retains its friendly, hands-on service—so rare in today’s depersonalized business world—while delivering a high quality yet affordable product. Rather than listening to an automated system, callers have access to Mechling’s gracious team members who are available to answer questions directly and take phone orders during business hours. The company’s graphic designers work one-on-one with clients, guiding them through each phase of their projects.
Mechling also stands out among the printing-publishing crowd because it provides a unique combination of services in one facility—offering solutions for both old and new books, as well as other printed and covered projects. All formatting, cover design, printing and binding are completed in house, where quality control is at its most precise.
Simply put, Mechling Bookbindery takes the mystery out of how to get solid craftsmanship, on time and on budget, with support from trustworthy professionals who truly care about their client’s projects.
It all began with a book . . .
to come. Through it all, the Mechling team is driven to stay true to its original inspiration for starting the company: enthusiasm for the printed word and an unrelenting love of books.
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