Like many success stories, ours starts from a rather humble beginning. Howard Siewert, founder and original owner of Ideal Printers, was a successful salesperson at a large, Minnesota printing company. Howard loved what he did, and the relationships he had built with many of his clients. However, he was continually frustrated by his employer’s failure to keep the promises they had made to both Howard and to his clients, as a majority of press time was dedicated to the company’s major accounts.

Tired of these broken promises, Howard was determined to give his customers a more ideal experience. In 1979, he and his wife, Rhoda, decided to take these promises into their own hands, acquiring a small print company located in the Near-North neighborhood of Minneapolis, and founding Ideal Printers. Armed at the time with one good, single-color lithographic press, a capable press operator, and great relationships with several print buyers, they were confident Ideal Printers could compete among the giants of the Twin Cities print market.

In those early days, Howard and Rhoda knew it wasn’t that Ideal Printers necessarily had the capabilities to do more for its customers than their competitors, it was that they were willing to do so much more for their customers than any of their competitors. That dedication to Ideal’s customers led to rapid growth of the company—which quickly grew out of the original rented storefront in North Minneapolis.

Forty years later, we’re one of the premier printing companies in the Twin Cities, housed in a 55,000 square foot, G7 Master Qualified facility, located just north of downtown Saint Paul, in the Williams Hill Business District. Ideal is still independently and family-owned and operated by the second generation of Siewerts, Howard and Rhoda’s two daughters, Joan Siewert-Cardona and Lana Siewert-Olson, alongside their respective husbands, Francisco and Andy.

The past 40 years have seen major, and continuous, changes to the printing industry as technology has quickly evolved. Part of Ideal Printers’ continued success has been its willingness to stay ahead of the curve. We’ve come a long way from the original single-colored lithographic press. Today we continue to deliver best-in-class offset print on our one- to six-color Heidelberg and Komori presses, but have also expanded our operation to include digital print, a wide range of bindery and finishing options, a creative services team, and a full-service in-house mailing department.

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the dedication to customer service that Howard and Rhoda instilled into Ideal Printers at its inception. Every member of the Ideal Printers team—from sales, to press operations, to customer service, to mailing services, to delivery—is here to make your experience with Ideal Printers, well, ideal.