Established at ArtCenter College of Design in 1989 and now housed under the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography [HMCT], Archetype Press offers students, the public, and visiting artists the opportunity to practice what has become a digital age rarity: setting type and printing by hand. Past visiting artists include Amos Kennedy, Jim Sherraden, Dafi Kühne, Alan Kitching and Kelvyn Smith [The New Typography Workshop].

The extensive collection of American and European metal foundry type, wood type and ornaments—originally belonging to Vernon Simpson’s legendary typesetting shop in Hollywood—residing in approximately 2,500 cases and is among the largest collection of any design school in the country. As an experimental typographic studio, students learn from an exceptional group of dedicated instructors how to set and print type on an impressive twelve Vandercook proof presses. Over 200 limited edition collaborative books, broadsides, and chapbooks have been created during Archetype’s 35 years.