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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; A family-owned Wilkes-Barre business, Corcoran Printing is celebrating its 80th year in business this year.
				What began as a small family business in the basement of Patrick Corcoran&rsquo;s home in 1940 has since grown and transformed dramatically. Corcoran Printing remains a family-owned local business now seeing its fourth generation of employees. Through the years, one thing has remained the same &#8211; Corcoran Printing&rsquo;s commitment to providing a carefully crafted quality product with a high level of personalized service.
				When current owner Bill Corcoran Sr. started working with his dad Tom, Patrick&rsquo;s son, in 1978, he never thought that after his 42 years in the business, the company and the print industry overall would have evolved into what it is today. &ldquo;Believe it or not, when we started in business, resumes and tickets were the big products,&rdquo; Corcoran said. &ldquo;Our products and services have evolved considerably since then and we are now much more specialized.&rdquo; Corcoran Printing now focuses on specialty foil stamp print, die-cutting, small packaging, cigar bands, and jewelry cards as well as traditional print.
				Tom Corcoran passed away in 1997, shortly after Bill Sr. took over the business. &ldquo;I think my dad would be so proud to see Corcoran Printing grow into its 4th generation,&rdquo; Corcoran Sr. said. &ldquo;When I began working with him, he would always allow me to pursue opportunities the way I saw fit, encouraging me to &lsquo;go for it&rsquo;. While he taught me the ropes of the business, he gave me the runway to figure things out on my own. That enabled me to take the chances needed to grow.&rdquo;
				Corcoran Sr. now hopes to give his son, Bill Jr. that same opportunity.
				Bill Jr. was introduced to the family print business doing odd jobs as a teenager. He joined the company full time in 2012 and has been working in sales ever since. He also handles the companies social media presence, gaining a following with his Match Color Monday and Foil Stamp Friday posts.
				&ldquo;I remember the first day I started at Corcoran Printing. My dad said, &lsquo;be yourself, be confident, and be honest.&rsquo; Those words stuck with me from the beginning,&rdquo; Corcoran Jr. said. &ldquo;Besides the technical aspects of the business, my dad always shared his failures as much as his successes and often tells me he wants me to &lsquo;learn from his mistakes.&rsquo; He taught me that every situation has an opportunity for improvement and to always do the right thing for the customer.&rdquo;
				In addition to Patrick, Tom, Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. all working in the business through the years, other family members have helped as well. Two of Bill Sr.&rsquo;s sisters worked there in the earlier years with his sister Sue recently returning part-time. His mom, Beverly, worked as their part-time bookkeeper for 15 years after retiring from her job at the phone company. Bill Sr.&rsquo;s wife Ruth and step-son Greg oversee web, digital, and content marketing strategies for Corcoran Printing. Various cousins, nieces, nephews, and other relatives have also helped throughout the years.
				One of the biggest changes Bill Sr. has seen in business has come over the past five years. In the &rsquo;60s and &rsquo;70s, he said that most business came from a 10-15 mile radius around the shop, usually through word of mouth. In the &rsquo;80s, yellow page advertising brought in customers from up to 50 miles away. Now, Corcoran Printing has over a dozen international clients from all over the world as the company continues to expand its online marketing efforts.
				&ldquo;An increasing amount of business now comes in via online inquiries as opposed to the direct outbound sales model of the last 35 years,&rdquo; Corcoran Sr. said. &ldquo;With the help of my wife and stepson, our digital marketing and blog efforts have enabled us to capture customers as far away as Barbados, Denmark, Africa, and Australia. They&rsquo;ve also helped us reach the top of many Google print search pages.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been amazed as to the swing in sales success from the old standard of knocking on doors to a more digital focus, as well as the building of social media leads through the efforts of Bill Jr.,&rdquo; Corcoran Sr. said. &ldquo;My dad would be so proud of how our capital investments through the years have paid off and to see just how far we&rsquo;ve come through hard work and a focus on technology. He would have been proud to see his grandson not only in the business but also landing a professional sports team as a client for us.&rdquo;
				Some of Corcoran Printing&rsquo;s notable clients include The Philadelphia 76ers, Kraft Foods, Random House and the United States Secret Service. In addition to the commitment of the family to the longevity of Corcoran Printing, the company has more than ten dedicated hard-working employees. Along with technology, it is the high skill level of this staff that has enabled the company to grow. Most employees have been with the company well over 15 years.
				While the COVID-19 pandemic brought a significant decline in business, adjusting their business model and putting a stronger focus on online sales has enabled Corcoran Printing to survive.
				&ldquo;The most valuable lesson I learned from my dad is that hard work and persistence pays off,&rdquo; Corcoran Sr. said. &ldquo;You need to think big, plan long-term, and invest in the future. That long-term view has really come in handy this past year.&rdquo;
				To learn more about Corcoran Printing, visit corcoranprinting.com.

Wilkes-Barre’s Corcoran Printing celebrates 80th anniversary