Common Press

About The Common Press

The Common Press is the letterpress studio at the University of Pennsylvania. The press is a collaboration of interests, including writing (Kelly Writers House), print culture and history (the Rare Book & Manuscript Library) and visual arts and design (the School of Design). The facility provides a mixed media environment where students can move between digital and manual image making, collaborating with writers, printmakers, designers, scholars and others with an interest in printing. The Common Press exists to assist in teaching design and to facilitate collaborative projects across the university. It was founded on January 17, 2006, the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth.