Company History

In 1921, our grandfather, Tom Murphy, opened the doors of Murphy Printing.  At that time, it was known as Western Novelty.  In the beginning, the printing was done by letterpress and  the product varied greatly from what is done today.  The type of printing was custom invitations, programs, ribbons and other items associated with social affairs.  After a couple of years of operations, the Western Novelty moved into a larger facility in the backyard of Tom and Mary Murphy's house.  During the 1930's, the business was moved to Geary and Divisadero Street in San Francisco.

In the 1940's, Tom's son, Bob (our father), joined the company after serving in the Coast Guard during World War II.  During the 1950's, Tom slowly retired and let Bob take over.  As the type of printing went from custom products to more business based, a decision was made to change the name to Murphy Printing Company to better reflect the work that went out the door.  

In 1959, Murphy Printing was asked to leave the Divisadero Street location and was moved to it's current location at 424 Bryant Street.  At that time, new technology was introduced and Murphy Printing purchased it's first offset printing press.  

Ken Murphy joined his father in 1977 and in 1981, younger brother Larry came on board.  In the mid 1980's, Bob retired with Ken and Larry becoming the owners and it has been that way since 1985.  

Offset printing was the main form of printing until 2004 when Murphy Printing joined the digital printing age.  This allowed us to print jobs quicker and for less money as the demand for such printing started to increase.  We continue to invest in digital printing technology and machinery that supports it while still maintaing the traditional offset printing process.  Having both types of printing allows us to meet the demands of many companies.

Being a family run business for over 100 years speaks for itself!  We ask that the next time you need a print job completed to highly consider our company.  Our investment in equipment and our customer service make us one of San Francisco's top printers. Please call us at 415.986.6906.  As owners, Larry and Ken Murphy will be happy to take your call.