“Eventually, many come back to the print shop because of better quality,” he said.

To Tibbles, providing health insurance for his employees also means providing health insurance for his family. His only employees are his wife and grown daughter.

“Since I’m the owner, I have to pay the Medicare taxes for all my employees,” he said. “Local taxes, state taxes and federal taxes affect my business. The less money I have, the less I can invest in equipment or benefits or even in personnel.”

Tibbles said it has been harder to pay for health insurance when “we start having premiums at $1,000 a month.”

“But this day and time, you have to have it,” he said. “You go to the hospital one day and you can rack up a large bill.”

Yet, he said he’s not sure which presidential candidate’s proposal is better for him.

“If McCain is going to start taxing medical benefits, that’s less money I’m going to have for investing or employees,” he said. “Obama hopes to give everyone a tax credit. But who’s going to pay for the credit?”

Tibbles said the recent $700 billion bailout has left him with lots of questions.

“I can’t tell if it’s affecting me,” he said. “What will happen in 30 or 60 days? Six months? When you pour $700 billion in the economy, is that going to trigger inflation?”

High prices for gas and materials also have affected business, Tibbles said.

“I see rising prices for the commodity paper I use, whether it’s bond or offset,” he said.

“We’re having to adjust prices because of insurance and fuel,” he said. “I can only absorb so much before I pass that on to my customers. It’s a balancing act for small businesses to cover your costs.”

Even at 62, Tibbles doesn’t think much about retirement. That doesn’t happen much in family businesses.

“You build value in a business, then you can sell it or pass it on to your children,” he said.

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