For 27 years, residents, business owners and school officials have had their special moments documented with a unique printing from M&M Printing.
In 2004, Debbie and Dennis Sharff bought the business from the former owners who retired.
Debbie is originally from Napoleon, a community displaced when officials with the John C. Stennis Space Center created the buffer zone in the 1960s. Her husband was raised in a military family and has lived all over.
“We were one of many families displaced, but my family still did their business in Picayune,” Sharff said.
Sharff is no stranger to the printing business, having gotten her start in high school as a member of the school’s cooperative office education program.
Her first job was as a typesetter for a Slidell newspaper. She soon worked her way up to production manager.
“When I was a typesetter, we built ads by cutting and pasting clips of art,” Sharff said. “In the darkroom, we punched our headlines one character at a time, then took the tape and put it on another machine to read. Next it was typed into columns. The dummies were drawn with a blue pencil.”
After her newspaper career, Sharff was employed with a printing company for 25 years. During that time, she also ran a ceramic studio part-time with her parents. During the holidays, the M&M office is decorated with Sharff’s ceramic figures.
When the opportunity to purchase M&M presented itself, Sharff said she was ready for a new venture.
“After being at the same company for 25 years, you reach a ceiling,” she said. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs so it was only a matter of time.”
The majority of pieces created at M&M are done so in-house, Sharff said. There is a full printing facility in the back of the building.
Sharff employs four full-time and two-part time employees. There is also a graphic designer, available by appointment only, who helps clients create their desired designs in the computer room.
A variety of prints can be ordered from M&M including, business cards, wedding invitations, carbonless forms, receipts, work orders, flyers, postcards, house plans and large-format posters and canvases.
In addition to printing services, the Sharffs carry a line of advertising specialty items such as cups, mugs, pens and tote bags.
At the beginning of the year, the staff at M&M will begin working on baseball, softball and dance books. During the summer months, they print school handbooks and football programs will be printed in the fall.
There are a variety of features offered on print jobs including single and multiple colors, metallic gold and silver and raised lettering.
“It’s never boring here,” Sharff said. “Our customers are interesting and I love seeing the finished product.”
M&M Printing is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The business is located at 29 Alex Place. Contact staff by phone at 601-798-4316 and through email at mprinting@bellsouth.net.
For more information, visit www.mmprintingllc.com.