This paper discusses the history of heritage printing equipment at The Glasgow School of Art since the mid twentieth Century. It also offers key insights into how facilities embedded within an educational context can bring unique opportunities for access, engagement and understanding of heritage print technologies for emerging generations of designers and artists.

The Caseroom was formally established as a facility for Letterpress design and print within the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) in 1964. It expanded the range of training resources towards industrial print skills such as commercial art (illustration and industrial print mediums), typography and related book arts such as book design, art direction and bookbinding that had been part of the Arts & Crafts inflected curriculum at GSA since the era of Francis H. Newbery (Director 1885–1914). This 60th anniversary year has proved a potent stimulus for efforts to understand the history, context and relevance of heritage print and typographic processes in design education. Pairing research in the GSA Archives and Special Collections with interviews with both print-trade trained technical and academic staff alongside former students, our project charts the introduction of technologies, design disciplines and sub-divided subject areas reflecting the shifting value of print in a wider cultural backdrop. Engaging with former staff has given the opportunity to connect with a wider history of trade printing in Scotland and to connect these staff with each other. New insights into the pivotal role of Wood Engraving has brought to light a fascinating range of works which sit between current Fine Art and Design practices and in turn inspired activities to reintroduce the technique to contemporary students. Connecting with graduates has revealed the impact that formative experiences in the Caseroom have had on subsequent careers and shows how the opportunity for sustained engagement with print provided by arts education can offer unique opportunities to invent for the future, in-turn contributing to the preservation of print heritage for future generations.