Common Press

Our student staff print broadsides for some Kelly Writers House events during the fall and spring semesters which are free takeaways for attendees. They have images of work produced under their Robinson Press imprint on their website. Kislak Center for Special Collections maintains an archive of the Press's work which you can request to see in person. 

Yes, we keep a range of colors stocked of 12.5" x 19" 100# Card Stock (Cover Weight) from French Paper Company and 12" x 18" White Flurry Paper from Boxcar Press in each of the three weights for workshops and general use. 

We offer a few bookbinding workshops each month during the semester, and a handful of workshops over the summer. The book structures vary and repeat, so you can take one of each or the same over again. Look under the "links" tab above for more information on what structures we teach, material lists, and suppliers. For information on upcoming workshops, please visit our calendar of events. 

We order the plastic KF95 plates from Boxcar Press. They provide detailed information on file preparation and ordering, as well as fast turnaround. Look under the "equipment" tab for a list of the Boxcar base sizes we have at the Press. 

We are working on updating our studio use sign up page to include the buttonmaker, but for now you can sign up for a typesetting space (click the button "sign up to use the studio" above).

Common Press employs several student workers throughout the year. Search student positions in WorkDay for openings. 

The Typography of Independence

Starting in August 2025, Common Press will host The Typography of Independence, a year-long program exploring the materiality of the Declaration of Independence. Monthly public events will explore the typesetting, printing and papermaking involved in the production of the Declaration of Independence, a document that was first letterpress printed in Philadelphia over the night of July 3, 1776.

These events will culminate in a 15-hour community typesetting workshop in May 2026, where all are invited to communally set metal type and compose a replica of the Declaration of Independence on our nineteenth century iron handpress. This body of type will be available to print for the rest of the summer of 2026. The replica will be printed on handmade paper made from cotton and linen rags collected from the community.

The Materiality of the Declaration: A Broadside Series

During a series of monthly open studio sessions, the university and city community will be invited to try letterpress printing through the printing of handset broadsides about the materiality of the Declaration. For each open studio event, Common Press staff will create a broadside design in metal type, paying tribute to a person or process involved in the making of the first edition of the Declaration of Independence. 

Making Paper for the Declaration

The Common Press will make sheets of paper using the same practices and materials from the 1770’s, starting with a six-month community-wide rag collection, during which everyone in Philadelphia will be invited to donate old cotton and linen rags to make into paper. This mimics the process of papermaking in the 1770’s, when rag collectors circulated through the city to collect material for papermaking. Common Press staff will pulp these rags and make large sheets of paper which will be used to print true-to-size copies of the original Declaration of Independence.  

The 15-hour Declaration of Independence

The first edition of the Declaration was set and printed in 24 hours starting on July 4, 1776. Common Press will host a 15-hour community typesetting workshop where all are invited to communally set metal type and compose a replica of the Declaration of Independence. This body of type will be available to print for the rest of the summer of 2026.