The Collins Press was rescued from the basement of one of the campus buildings  in 2009 and local letterpress artists Jessica Spring, Chandler O’Leary, Taylor Cox, and Carl Montford all helped to restore the Press. Examples of the work of the Press are on display in the Archives & Special Collections Seminar Room on the second floor of the Collins Library. It is a tabletop platen press. To print, ink is applied to the circular ink disc, paper is set into the platen, and when the lever is pulled, rollers pick up the ink and transfer it to the paper. Because of its size, the Collins Press is limited to printing note cards and bookmarks. Keepsakes printed from the Press have commemorated first time in college orientation, the Al-Mutanabbi Street project, and have been printed to recognize faculty authors and special events of the university.
 
The Press is sometimes used in classes that focus on the history of technology, the book and communication.  For more information on the Press, contact Collins Library Director, Jane Carlin: jcarlin@pugetsound.edu.

Check out our original prints and keep an eye out for printing events at Collins!