NTS Places to visit - Robert Smail's Printing Works

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Robert Smail's Printing WorksIndustrial Heritage

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What to see & do
Robert Smail’s Printing Works is a unique visitor experience for anyone interested in the printed word. Enter through the gift shop and into the office, which is virtually untouched since the family firm shut up shop in the 1980s and which today houses its considerable archive. There are newspapers, wage books, dockets and ledgers piled high on every shelf, just as there would have been in its heyday.

Fortunately for us, the Smail family were notorious hoarders – make sure you take a look at the facsimile ‘guardbook’. This shows a selection from the property’s collection of 52 giant scrapbooks showcasing every job the company did for nearly 100 years, complete with dates and number of copies printed.

Step outside into the courtyard and see the lade, taken from the Leithen Water which once supplied power to several mills and machine shops in Innerleithen. When you go through to the paper store you will see the reconstructed waterwheel, which powered all the works’ machinery until 1930, churning back into action.

In the caseroom you’ll learn all about setting type by hand and watch the meticulous process of setting, inking and proofing the type. You will also be encouraged to have a go yourself and your efforts will be proofed on the magnificently elaborate Columbian Eagle Press.

Next it’s down to the machine room to see how the jobs were produced in volume. Here you can watch our resident printers operating the Arab Platen press with a foot treadle – and imagine just how tiring a ten-hour day pumping out some 900 prints an hour would have been!

You’ll get to see all the machines in action. Watch the belts and pulleys whirr into life and hear the awe-inspiring thunderous clank of the automated Wharfedale Reliance and Heidelberg Platen, both of which were bought by the Smails.

Once you’ve been given a taste of a day in the life of a Victorian printer, you might be tempted to return for our one-day letterpress and typography workshop and make your own posters. Or come along to our Christmas workshop, where you can put a personal stamp on festivities, creating your own cards, wrapping paper and gift tags.

See the events page of our blog for a full rundown of what’s happening at Smails.

Did you know?

Smail’s is the only jobbing letterpress printers in Britain still working in its original premises on original equipment. Printers had a legal obligation to keep a copy of every job for 6 months; the Smail’s kept theirs for nearly 100 years!

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Opening times

Robert Smail’s Printing Works

23 Mar to 31 Oct, Thur-Mon 12-5 (Sun 1-5).
Shop: 23 Mar t0 31 Oct, Thur-Mon 12-5 (Sun 1-5); 8 Nov to 23 Dec, Mon,Thur and Fri 10-4, Sat 9-3

Tel. 0844 493 2259

Click here to see admission prices