October 27, 2016

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue Honors College and College of Liberal Arts have successfully completed the first print run in a newly-launched print laboratory, housed in the STEAM lab of the Honors College and Residences South building. Together, the colleges are giving a 1959 Vandercook printing press new life. It has been out of service for many years, having outlived its original use. Purdue students and faculty members will now use it for publications, artwork and experiential learning.

“We know there are print studios at other universities, but we want to see what spin Purdue can put on this,” said Kristina Bross, associate dean of research and creative endeavors for the Honors College. “We hope to bring together the history of print with cutting-edge innovations in print technology today.”

The colleges brought in national letterpress expert Paul Moxon from Mobile, Alabama to refurbish the press and offer training workshops.  Under his direction, students and faculty completed Purdue’s first print on Oct. 18 reading, “PURDUE PRINTS AGAIN.” So far, 20 faculty members and graduate students have signed on to help with the development of the laboratory. They represent four colleges and the Purdue libraries.

Several faculty members are also designing courses around the press, utilizing “print” as a theme. They plan to give students hands-on experience in the lab. This spring, Honors College faculty member Peter Moore will expand the laboratory’s capabilities. As part of his course, Gutenberg Galaxy, students will construct a working replica of a 15th century Gutenberg press. At the same time, they will explore the revolutionary impact of print on religion, science and culture.

“The hope is to offer students a course that straddles the humanities and the STEM fields, where we consider developments in technology as developments in human consciousness,” Moore said. “We will begin the course by gaining a working knowledge of movable type, through working with the Vandercook, and we will apply this knowledge by reverse engineering the working replica.”

Purdue has a rich history in letterpress and bookmaking. The creator of the Centaur typeface, Bruce Rogers, was a Purdue alumnus. Acclaimed by some as one the greatest book designers of the twentieth century, Rogers wrote a book documenting and illustrating his development of the Centaur font. It remains in Purdue’s Special Collections Research Center, along with other books and papers he designed. Faculty members involved in the print laboratory project made a special trip to view the collection, as part of their print workshop.

Contact: Lindsay Perrault, Honors College communications manager,
(765) 427-1923, lindsayperrault@purdue.edu