At CSULB, I teach Typography and Graphic Design classes. One thing I enjoy doing with my class is introducing them to the history of both by taking a field trip to the International Printing Museum. When you go to the museum, either as an individual or with a group, you get a guided tour through the museums display of antique printing equipment.

It starts with the museums Franklin press,
where Gary Mark Remson demonstrates the casting of type, and the quick cooling of type metal.

Then on to the reproduction Gutenberg press, where one of the students assists in helping to print a page of the Gutenberg Bible.

We also see the fancy Liberty press,


and everyone’s favorite, the Linotype.
(this photo is from an earlier date)

We then move across the parking lot to the Book Arts area, for some hands on printing. My morning class was having such fun printing, I had to kick them out for the afternoon class!


When you have never printed before, and are setting type, some funny accidents can occur, like this example- he was trying to spell “OH SHIP”, but “PIHS HO” he got it backward!


We al thought this was so funny, that it became our catch phrase for the semester, whenever something went wrong. On the day of the final one of the students brought in a silkscreen, and printed us all “PIHS HO” shirts.

Happy summer everyone!