Lawton Printers kicks off their 112th anniversary celebration on December 12, 2012 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Lawton Printers is a full--service commercial printing company based in Central Florida serving local and nationwide clients.
The printing business has run in Kimberly Lawton Koon’s blood since the turn of the 19th century. Her great--great grandfather, Joseph Benjamin Lawton, founded Lawton Press in 1900. J.B. Lawton learned the printing trade from a young age. After schooling, he was hired as a newspaper writer. Later, he owned and published the New Iberia Enterprise in Louisiana. His newspaper was known for its honesty and integrity. Political activists in the community threatened him for this. To protect his family, Lawton decided to move to south Orlando and start a pineapple growing business just north of Lake Eola. After a Florida freeze harmed his crops, J.B. Lawton returned to printing and formed Lawton Press in 1900.
Tradition is rich in the Lawton family. The business was passed from generation to generation and is currently run by J.B. Lawton’s great--great granddaughter, Kimberly Lawton Koon. In 2005, she purchased the business from her father, Ces Lawton.
Today, the company continues to grow through new technology, new equipment, passion and youth. In July 2012, Lawton Printers moved from their Casselberry location into a larger 33,000 sq. ft. facility in downtown Orlando. The return to downtown also allows them the space to house the Lawton Printer’s Family Print Museum, which offers guests into the past, showcasing letterpresses, linotypes, Hamilton wood type drawers, and many other relics from the early century.
