Printing Museum

The Printing Museum (Musée de l'Imprimerie) is a museum dedicated to the history and technology of printing, tucked away in the underground levels of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) in Brussels. Founded in 1975, it has grown into one of the largest collections of printing equipment in Europe.

What does the museum cover?

The exhibition traces the development of printing technology from the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century through to the dawn of the computer era around 1980. Visitors can follow two centuries of change in the printing trade, from hand-operated mechanical presses to the increasingly automated machines that preceded the shift to digital publishing.

Among the exhibits are presses and equipment linked to a range of printing techniques: copperplate engraving, offset printing, typography, and screen printing, including silkscreens and stencils. A dedicated section highlights gilding and bookbinding, showing the craft side of book production — binding, cover decoration, and finishing.

The museum's scope reaches beyond printing in the narrow sense. A separate section is devoted to office equipment, displaying historical typewriters, copy machines, and calculating machines, giving visitors a fuller picture of how office technology evolved alongside the printing industry.

A historical exhibit from the occupation era

One of the more striking exhibits is a cylindrical printing press from 1916, used by German forces during the occupation of Belgium in the First World War. It stands as a reminder that printing technology has also played a role in historical and military contexts, not only commercial or artistic ones.

Guided visits

Museum staff offer guided tours, helping visitors place individual machines and techniques in their historical context. Visitors frequently point to the interactive elements as a highlight of the experience — the chance to try traditional printing methods hands-on under staff guidance. This turns the museum from a static display of machinery into a place where the printing craft can be experienced directly.

Why visit?

Its location beneath the Royal Library makes the Printing Museum a natural addition to a visit to KBR itself, one of Brussels's key cultural institutions. For anyone interested in the history of the book, typography, or the printing trade, it offers a single place to trace the field's development, from the earliest mechanical presses to equipment from the threshold of the computer age.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Printing Museum located in Brussels? The museum is housed in the underground levels of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) in central Brussels.

When was the museum founded? It was established in 1975.

What printing techniques does the exhibition cover? Copperplate engraving, offset printing, typography, and screen printing, alongside the bookbinding and gilding crafts tied to book production.

Can visitors do more than just look at the exhibits? Yes, the museum offers guided tours and interactive demonstrations where visitors can try traditional printing methods themselves.

Are there exhibits connected to wartime history? Yes, the collection includes a cylindrical press from 1916 that was used by German forces during the occupation of Belgium in the First World War.