Lewis

I have a background in design and print. I went to the print museum because I was interested in getting into letterpress printing, and I wanted to get a feel for whether or not it was something I wanted to take on.

We got an interesting tour of the history of printing, focused mostly on letterpress printing (movable type). My partner and I both found the volunteers who run the museum engaging, and it was thoroughly worthwhile. I confirmed my interest in taking up letterpress printing, so from that point of view it was a success.

The museum itself is fairly small, but packed with a lot of equipment. Walking through it would only take a few minutes, but you wouldn’t get much out of just doing that. The tour can take up to two hours, but putting the equipment in context and explaining how it works makes for a much more interesting visit.

The museum is interesting for those of us of a more geekish persuasion, and especially recommended if you have any interest in typography, design, print, books, etc. As a volunteer run organisation it doesn’t have big shiny facilities, but it makes up for it by being able to get in close to the equipment and having friendly staff.