Southwestern’s roots began with the original Trave-Walker Printing Company which was located at 408 West 6th in Oklahoma City. When the Trave-Walker partnership ended in the 1920s the growing company became Trave-Taylor Printing Company, and as you can see in the photos, it was quite a sizable printing concern for the times.

The owners of “The Southwestern Stationery and Bank Supply Company” of Lawton wanted to expand their banking supply company and looked toward Oklahoma City for their growth opportunity. In 1947 they purchased Trave-Taylor and they could now offer high quality custom printing to their customers while continuing to serve the banking community. After Oklahoma City they set up new companies in Ponca City, Amarillo and Wichita Falls, TX.

By 1956, Southwestern had outgrown the old printing location (which still stands) and built a new facility at 4500 N. Santa Fe. That same year the company began a “profit sharing” program for its employees, one of the first companies to do so in Oklahoma City.

Ted Warkentin served as the company’s president until 1961, followed by Forrest Burns (1961-62) and Frank Polk (1962-1994). Bob Allee led the company from April 1994 to May 2018. Don Miles purchased the company in May 2018 and keeping with a long-standing history of innovation, will continue with a series of upgrades. Southwestern stands as perhaps one of the most professional state-of-the-art companies in the southwest area.