The Caxton Press was founded in Shildon

Shildon

Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated 2 miles to the south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 miles from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

 in the United Kingdom in 1930 by Frank Wawne, 1900-1995.

The business specialised in Letterpress printing

Letterpress printing

Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...

, and boasted two 19th century, belt driven, hand fed printing presses, a Gordon and a Golding. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Mr. Wawne took the unusual step of ordering a printing press for the business from Heidelberg, a German manufacturer. Hostilities meant that the sheet fed crown platen couldn't be delivered until 1952. The company went from strength to strength, specialising in business cards, invitations and bespoke wedding stationery

Stationery

Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...

, running from the original 'tin hut' in Mafeking Place, Shildon. On Mr. Wawne's retirement in 1989, the business was taken over by a Worthing Firm.

The introduction of modern processes including the offset printing

Offset printing

Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...

 methods and the introduction of computerised typesetting

Desktop publishing

Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...

 eventually brought about the closure of the major letterpress suppliers, forcing the business to finally close its letterpress side of the business in October 2002 after 72 years.

The business had no connection with William Caxton

William Caxton

William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...

(1422–1491), the first British Printer, whose business was at the sign of the "Red Pale".