Students go old school for printing press project
Ruth von Bernuth’s GERM 227 class was the first to use Davis Library’s 19th-century iron press for coursework.
While many students at Carolina rely on modern technology like Canvas to complete assignments, those in Professor Ruth von Bernuth’s GERM 227 class this past spring took more of an old-school approach.
In the class, Luther and the Bible, von Bernuth teaches and fosters conversation on Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformation and related literature written in the period between the 15th and 17th centuries. During the spring 2025 semester, von Bernuth took students to Davis Library for a more hands-on experience with the University Libraries’ 19th-century printing press.
“The Reformation would have not happened without the printing press,” she said. “It’s such a crucial part of the Reformation, and Luther is one of the most printed authors of his time.”
Von Bernuth’s class was the first to use the 1884 Luigi Ghisi Albion press, which the Libraries acquired in 2023.
University Librarians worked with von Bernuth’s class to teach students the history of printing through hands-on learning. (University Libraries)
“We are in this transitional moment right now where a lot of books are only available online,” added von Bernuth. “I usually take students to Wilson Library to see an artifact from that time in history, and it really seems to draw an interest. When I saw the email from my department manager about the printing press, I thought it would be so cool to use.”
Von Bernuth divided the class into groups and tasked each with producing a broadsheet by the end of the semester. In Carolina’s MakerSpaces, students created an illustration to be transferred to paper. They then worked with the University Libraries staff to learn how to set type for their projects and experience printing an item on the press. The printing press process required patience: Within a 50-minute class, students were able to set about three or four words in total.
“It’s pretty difficult to do. We ended up printing about 30 times, and probably got only eight passable prints,” said River Watson ’26, from Wake Forest. “But working with these materials was really cool. I wasn’t raised in any formal religion, so coming into this class I wasn’t sure how I would navigate the material. But this project really made me feel valued and gave me a perspective I didn’t have before.”
River Watson ’26 and his team presented their final class project at BeAM MakerFest. “This was really cool to work on,” he said. “The library staff was so helpful and energetic throughout the entire process.” (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
For students like Lauryn Bailey ’25, a Lutheran, the project provided a deeply personal experience.
“We never grew up talking about the Reformation and how it happened,” she said. “I didn’t understand how important the printing press was to the movement. But this is how they made information more accessible to people. It made me not only gain a bigger picture of my faith but also realize how privileged we are to be students at UNC and have easy access to so much information.”
Von Bernuth said students gained a new appreciation of the printmaking process and found the fun in spotting mistakes printers made in 500-year-old books.
“I think they appreciated the time that goes into this, and they were really looking at things from a different perspective,” she said. “The project changed the energy of the class – the questions they would ask, how they engaged with each other. I would think, ‘Why haven’t I done this before?’”
Von Bernuth plans to incorporate the printing press into future Luther and the Bible classes and hopes to eventually develop a class on the history of printing.
