St. Joseph Communications was founded in 1956 by Gaetano Gagliano as a printing house. Gagliano and his growing family emigrated from Italy shortly after the war. He initially found work laying track for CP Rail, but could not forget about his lifelong dream of becoming a printer. So in 1956, he started a small print business in the basement of his family home. He specialized in letterpress work such as birth announcements, invitations and business cards. He expanded business through new equipment and technology, strategic acquisitions and bigger facilities. By the 1980s, St. Joseph Print was one of the largest privately owned print companies in Canada, and growth continued in the 1990s and early 2000s.[citation needed] In addition to printing, the company expanded into photography, content creation, publishing, and media.