Meet our Team
Ray Dart
Master Bookbinder. Letterpress Printer. Business genius.
More years of printing and bookbinding experience that the rest of the team put together. Ray is the go-to guy for all things, especially that tricky, one-off job that requires something extra.
Jeremy Dart
A serial entrepreneur, Jeremy can see an evolving future in this craft
With bookbinding in his blood, it was a matter of time before he would find his way into the family business.
Jeremy is a qualified bookbinder, and has a grasp on all aspects of the bindery.
Our History
For over 30 years, and many generations, Doncaster Bookbinders has been a key player in the bookbinding industry in Victoria and throughout Australia.
Established in the 1980s by Bruno Olbertz, Doncaster Bookbinders was a small but efficient hand bindery, quickly developing a strong reputation for quality craftsmanship.
Originally based in the Heidelberg/Ivanhoe area, Doncaster Bookbinders was increasingly called upon for bespoke thesis binding, magazine and journal binding from local colleges, professional organisations, councils, many other Government organisations and private individuals for their binding needs.
In the mid-1990s, with the original owners nearing retirement, the Dart family took the opportunity to acquire Doncaster Bookbinders as a going concern. Having successfully operated Ormond Bindery for many years, the hand bindery was a perfect complement to an already well reputed Print Finishing house.
Doncaster Bookbinders remained operating from the same premises in Ivanhoe, and eventually the business was moved to its current location in Moorabbin.
In 2010, after an offer was made to purchase Ormond Bindery, the Dart family decided to concentrate its efforts on reinvigorating and growing Doncaster Bookbinders. By changing its management structure, finding efficiencies throughout the business and, most importantly, focusing on providing a positive customer experience, it caused a revolution in the business.
Now, with three generations of the Dart family working the business, all with unprecedented experience, training and knowledge, the future has never looked brighter or more secure. As one of only a few hard-case hand binders left in the Australian marketplace, we are positioned to meet the constant needs of individual, organisational and trade short-run hard case binding.
To complement our traditional hand binding techniques we have invested in some of the newest technology available which ensures accuracy, detail and the highest quality when it comes to finishing.
The future? We will always stay true to our bookbinding heritage. and to what we know and are known for. Our focus is to work closely with Graphic Designers, Printers and individual enthusiasts, ensuring we enhance each of their strengths, delivering to expectations and creating a positive experience and conversation around books and book binding and the wider print finishing industry.
We are passionate about a resurgence in book binding, and aim to be in the mix in bringing this about. We are striving to teach what we know, so books, their structure and their value continue with us all into the future. We are constantly searching and researching for new ways that our proven book binding techniques can be used and applied to current trends and new market applications.