Alchemy is more than just turning lead into gold. Trace the history of the process, learn about its applications and identify ways that you can use alchemical influences in your own art in this 4-hour workshop.

Learn about the history and technique of East Asian bookbinding and make two books in one day: the side-stitch binding and the Japanese multi-section book.

While bookbinding and book repair share many skills and techniques, they are also distinct pursuits. This course is intended to introduce the student familiar with bookbinding to key practices within basic book repair.

To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, we begin at the beginning. This, the first of our Core Bookbinding series, introduces students to the craft with the Coptic stitch, one of the earliest structures in binding.

The San Francisco Center for the Book celebrates the craft and art of bookbinding. Our Bookbinding Core Certificate Program introduces students to four different binding models, leading them through the history and evolution of bookmaking. It provides students a comprehensive foundation to delve into the practice of binding and qualifies them work in our bindery.

In centuries past, books were sometimes sewn onto cords and then laced into soft covers before being bound for a specific collection or library. In this class students will bind a book using these bindings as a model but employing thick paper as the folded and laced wrapper.

The final class in our Core Bookbinding series uses skills learned in each previous class to create a beautiful and classic rounded back cloth binding.

Working from pre-cut materials students will learn three simple enclosures: Folded Paper Portfolio, Phased Box, & Slipcase.

Discover the possibilities of brush lettering. By learning some of the fundamental techniques and principles of letter formation, sign writing, and calligraphy, students will learn how to create their very own letter designs using watercolor and gouache painting methods.

A book structure with personality built into the cover, buttonhole books allow for exposed sewing and decorative cuts that give a window from the outside in.

Dig in to the tradition and history of letterpress printing and get your hands dirty. Learn about the process and practice of setting type, mixing inks and pulling impressions. In this class you will learn how to print your own cards!

The four class Cylinder Core Certificate Program allows students to move quickly through the press basics while also addressing relief printing in general. After this class students are qualified to rent press time as well as move on to more advanced classes and techniques.

The four class Cylinder Core Certificate Program allows students to move quickly through the press basics while also addressing relief printing in general. After this class students are qualified to rent press time as well as move on to more advanced classes and techniques.

Design and aesthetic. Increase your letterpress versatility: learn to set up the press, refine you registration skills, and run an edition. Learn more about packing, roller height, and make-ready. Come ready to run an edition of your own small poster!

Bring digital back into analog in this final core course and learn to print from photopolymer plates. Apply your letterpress skills to artwork created digitally to make fantastic plates for printing. Walk away with a stack of stationery printed from polymer plates.

Enhance the beauty of your hand bound books! This workshop introduces you to a host of attractive colored edges.

If you’ve been seeking an interesting and elegant way to house your book and paper structures or you’re just looking for a beautiful, non-traditional box for storing things, this workshop is your answer. Spend a day learning to construct a charming and functional hatch-top box with a bottom drawer.

Eco Printing is not just for paper! Take a weekend and learn to incorporate this amazing process onto other natural materials while experimenting with the range of printing options including some edible plants.

Collage is a process of exploration: with X-Acto in hand, we sift through old magazines, discarded books, and other scraps and ephemera in search of patterns, looking to unite images that were once separate. Learn how to stock your toolkit before you set out while getting a hands-on introduction to collage!

The right paper loves to be folded, creased and bound, and this course is an integrated exploration of the two pleasures of accordions and folds, and where they intersect. Create five books during this fun-filled session, that covers a wide range of possibilities for these structures.

A new offering from bookbinder extraordinaire, Dominic Riley, this class combines several tooling techniques into a five-day extravaganza of traditional and creative approaches.

Do you love the alchemy of printed words and images that mix and grow with the turning of pages? Do the complex layers of meaning that can arise within a book fascinate you? If so, the Artists’ Book is a medium worthy of your exploration. Begin to delve into this rich and expanding format in this one-day class that introduces the history, basic structures, and an overview of the practices used by book artists. Bring your own quotes, short poems, or images and craft a book during the day to get a taste of the joy that is the making of Artists’ Books.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

If you're familiar with "book arts basic concepts" but not quite ready to jump into SFCB's Bookbinding Core series, this is the class for you! In this four hour class, students will build basic bookbinding skills with a focus on sewing multiple signature bindings.

If you're familiar with "book arts basic concepts" but not quite ready to jump into SFCB's Bookbinding Core series, this is the class for you! In this four hour class, students will build basic bookbinding skills with a focus on sewing multiple signature bindings.

If you're looking to begin making artists' books or adding content to existing books, color theory is a great place to start. Through a series of hands-on exercises, this course covers the basics of color theory and acrylic techniques that are essential for artists working in any medium.

Learn the basic operations of the Kwikprint hot foil stamping machine. In this workshop, students will stamp brass type and ornaments onto paper, board covered with bookcloth, and leather.

Originally structural, headbands evolved over the centuries to a more decorative function. This evening will explore single and double core headbands, sewn onto the book block.

The Iron Hand Press is a workhorse from the nineteenth century that welds modern printing to its earliest incarnations over five hundred years ago. This class covers an overview of the practices and principals of doing edition work on this venerable printing press.

From fibers to formed sheets, students in this workshop will learn to make thin yet strong paper in the Japanese tradition.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This 4-hour version of our popular Introduction to Letterpress class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press with more hands-on time for students to work with typesetting and printing. Come play with us!

This 4-hour version of our popular Introduction to Letterpress class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press with more hands-on time for students to work with typesetting and printing. Come play with us!

This 4-hour version of our popular Introduction to Letterpress class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press with more hands-on time for students to work with typesetting and printing. Come play with us!

In this fun and fascinating workshop students will learn the art of linoleum carving (linocut) to create simple, stunning prints on a cylinder press.

Learn the basics of pochoir, a stenciling technique that is great for editioning and book art. Pochoir will help you add color and depth to your projects.

Gather your drawings and get ready to transfer your imagery into scratchboard illustration. Learn the basics of this accessible direct engraving technique in this one-day workshop.

Learn the ins-and-outs of the Risograph, a marriage of silkscreen meeting photocopier. In this class you’ll create and edition print a 2-4 color poster.

In this introductory class, student will gain a basic understanding of the history, techniques, tools, and styles of European marbling.

The accordion book is a versatile structure for artists of all mediums. In this all day workshop, students learn various tips and tricks for creating their own accordion books -- and leave with a variety of samples to inspire future projects.

Make your own decorative paper and amaze your friends and family! This workshop is a fun introduction to printing on a cylinder proof press, introducing creative techniques such as pressure printing, overlapping print runs, and ghost printing.

'Tis the season to send some cards! Spend an evening getting an introduction to letterpress printing on cylinder presses while creating personalized and original holiday stationery.

Based on the Nag Hammadi codex, this single signature book is made from handmade cotton rag paper and leather over thin boards. Once assembled, students will embellish their books completing a personalized, pocket-sized journal/sketchbook.

Have beautiful scraps from bookmaking/printmaking/photography projects? This workshop will teach you how to make them into charming miniature books.

Fold a little paper, decorate it with your own drawings, use a blade for cutting, and a glue-stick to piece it all together – et voila, a miniature pop-up theatre!

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Looking for a floral gift that won't wilt? Paper Flowers is your answer! Spend an evening learning to make a variety of blooms out of paper.

Have you been dreaming of honing your marbling skills but are unsure of doing it on your own? This workshop will allow you to do just that! Guided by Italian marbler Pietro Accardi, students will have a day to practice techniques learned in SFCB’s Introduction to Marbling workshops and leave with a stack of their own marbled paper.

Learn the fundamentals of digital design for letterpress! Students will learn key skills for software applications like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. We will explore best practices for handling photographic and vector images as well as setting digital type for photopolymer plate production.

After taking Polymer Core 1, learn how to make detailed, high-quality photopolymer plates from digital files and film for letterpress printing.

Discover how to combine the simple structure of an accordion book with the playful elements of pop-ups and collage. Here's the opportunity to combine content and form to communicate your unique vision.

Learn the process of woodcut printmaking, in and out then enter a new realm by introducing collage! We will be making one of a kind prints and discover the magic in experimentation. No experience necessary.

Hey you, finicky readers out there! Tired of having to wrestle with your beloved books as you read them? This class is for you. In this workshop, we will take a paperback book and transform it into something more durable and easier to flex and open.

ROMAN CAPITALS: Majestic, serene, balanced, harmonious, fabulous, strong and delicate, any adjective is short to describe Roman Majuscules’ beauty. In this course we will learn how they were written, through the experience firsthand of the flat brush calligraphy tricks and tips like pressure and rotation. We will get the skill to write those damned and delicate serifs like true roman scribes.

Discover how to dampen paper, use bearers, and finesse rubber-and oil-based inks on Cylinder and Jobbing Platen Presses for better ink coverage and control.

Create a letterpress printed one page wonder. Single sheet books are made out of one sheet of paper and in this workshop students will design and print an edition of one-page folded books while learning to set type and print on a cylinder press.

Do you have stacks of old books lying around that no longer have monetary, cultural, or personal value and are just taking up space? Transform them into works of art!

Boxmaking and leatherwork combine in this superb luxury box! Whether it is used to house a fine binding, cherished ephemera or suites of prints, this is the ideal box for the job, and a very good class for those looking to work with leather and gold.

Transform a standard-issue lined, sewn notebook into a thing of beauty.