Kerley Ink is one of the oldest remaining privately-owned ink manufacturing companies in the United States. It was officially founded in 1947 by Raymond Ambrose Kerley, but the company's roots in the graphic arts go back considerably
farther than that. As a matter of fact, they go all the way back to 1909, the year that the famous Indian Chief Geronimo died.
In that same year, the then 16 year-old founder of Kerley Ink took the New York Central railroad from Schenectady, New York to Chicago to seek his fortune. There he found work as a "printer's devil" near downtown Chicago in a shop named The Regensteiner Press. The rest, as they say, is history.
To read more, click on the link below:
The Kerley Ink Story 1909-1982. A reprint of a feature story from the October 1982 issue of The American Inkmaker Magazine.
In the 25-odd years since the feature article was published, much has transpired. Kerley Ink re-introduced color printing inks to its clients in 1984. This was a success, and in 1998 a new larger color ink plant was acquired to further serve Kerley's clients.
Presntly, Kerley Ink manufactures about 20 million pounds of ink annually in two buildings with a total of about 50,000 square feet on several acres of land. Additionally, off-site warehouses are employed for storing raw materials so that large orders can be filled with minimal wait times, so important for our larger domestic and international clients.