Offset, rotogravure, laser, pad printing ... Since 1455, printing techniques have constantly evolved to adapt to our new modes of communication and consumption. But today, what's left of the real work of typography? Meeting with the Peltier brothers of Riby printing in Orléans.
Why the printing press?
Michel Peltier: “Well, I would say we got into it when we were little!”
Jean-Claude Peltier: “The company was created by our father’s uncle before the First World War. Our father worked there all his life. We spent long and good days there, we grew up there. So, of course, at the age of 14, we started learning in the family business.”
Michel Peltier: “We can also say our father passed his passion on to us. To master the art of the composter, to choose the boxes and the bottom of cases, to realize the most beautiful composition, that’s what drives us day after day to answer the demand of our customers.”
What is your vision of the job?
Michel Peltier: “Above all, the very strong desire to maintain a craft, that of typographer, this ancestral skill at the origin of the printing press. And also the pride of perpetuating a company whose know-how has made history and whose future is important to us.”
Jean-Claude Peltier: “We still work today with platen presses and cylinder machines. It is precision work; work of the hand and the eye. Work that gives a soul to what is produced and also more intensity of printing with direct colors.”
What are your values today?
Jean-Claude Peltier: “Today and always, it is the respect of the techniques learned and a perfectly realized job. The concern to communicate and a certain quality in our human relations with our customers.”
Michel Peltier: “Yes, the relationship with our customers is important. They are looking for quality work. They have a precise idea of what they want: beautiful paper, a nice touch, a certain material…to always achieve the rendering that the customer has in mind.”
Tell us about your meeting with AME?
Michel Peltier: “In fact, AME came to find us. The employees of this company, through their activity, highlight the French savoir-faire in various fields. They were looking for business cards of high craft, great quality that is the image of what they put forward daily. We were immediately on the same wavelength. In addition, we share the same values. It’s a pleasure to work with them. ”
AME thanks Michel and Jean-Claude Peltier for this interview.