Printing at the UICB

Two print studios are located in North Hall, each equipped with Vandercook presses. The Type Kitchen has a Vandercook Universal and a Vandercook SP-15. The Professional Studio has 3 Vandercook Universals. Between the two studios, many drawers of type are available, including Joanna, Bembo, Gill Sans, Spectrum, and a number of drawers of wooden type. Printing facilities at the Center include photopolymer plate-making equipment. In addition to the North Hall facilities, Historical Printing equipment and opportunities are available to students.

The Center offers courses in letterpress printing, hand-printing, and digital typesetting. Check listings at ISIS for course availabilities and offerings; enter 108 in the "Department" field then click on "Search." Printing courses offered through the center are listed below.

Introduction to Letterpress Printing

Mechanics of letterpress printing, basic elements of typographic design as applied to letterpress edition printing, hand setting and printing from metal type on Vandercook proof presses; printing text and illustration from photopolymer plates; historical aspects of printing, early development of printing technologies, evolution of letterpess printing through 20th century.

Handprinted Book: Design and Production

Exploration of problems in hand-printing books—choice of manuscript, editing, design, typesetting, proofreading, printing and binding; histories of printing and of the book, emphasis on 20th-century book design and literature. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Digital to Letterpress Book Design

Digital typesetting and book design; chapbook production using photopolymer plates and Vandercook presses; text and content, book typography, practical, and aesthetic considerations. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Innovative Letterpess

Creation of the visual book using letterpess printing; narrative, serialization, type as graphic, physical structure of the book; traditional letterpress printing, monoprinting, and some nontraditional letterpess techniques using technology ranging from metal to digital.

Digital Design for Artist's Books

Introduction to concepts, techniques, and technologies used to design and produe artist's books with personal computers and graphic design software.