General Information

PrintingFilms.com is a collection of vintage films that showcase the technologies and processes of printing, journalism, and typography. It was established by Doug Wilson in 2012 after his work as director of Linotype: The Film.

The collection started when Doug was given a box of 16mm Linotype promotional films in 2011 by Dave Seat for digitization.

In 2013, Carl Schlesinger (a former Linotype operator at The New York Times) donated his extensive collection of films to the Museum of Printing, which assisted with preservation in 2015.

Sponsors

We are seeking sponsors that believe in preserving this great resource and need assistance in locating films, researching copyrights, digitization, and website maintenance. If you are interested in helping, please get in touch.

Along with donations from other archives and collections, this website will grow with content to preserve these films for future generations and curious people alike.

Special thanks to Frank Romano, Laura Minor, Eric Scace, Nick Sloan, and friends at Adobe and Monotype for their support.

Be in Touch

Do you have 16mm, 8mm, or VHS copies of printing-related films that have not been digitized? We may be able to help.

Please email us with the details of your collection — making sure to include the title, date, subject and any other details about the film.

Copyright & Footage Requests

All films are in the public domain to the best of our knowledge.

Need to license high-resolution footage for your production? Films are available in 1920x1080 ProRes 422 format for a reasonable fee (which helps keep the site running). Contact us for more info.