The International Museum of Graphic Communication in...

The International Museum of Graphic Communication in Buena Park documents the evolution of the printing process and provides an enjoyable tour, especially for the visitor

who has made the rounds of nearby amusement parks and is seeking something more substantial.

“This is a working museum,” says curator Mark Barbour. “That means everything here can be demonstrated and visitors get actively involved in what is being presented to them. There is nothing more boring than looking at rows of old machines, so we came up with ways to make the museum lively.”

The 25,000-square-foot facility, opened in 1988, houses the personal collection of Ernest A. Lindner, a Los Angeles businessman who started in the printing business in the 1940s by reconditioning and selling used Linotype machines. Lindner began purchasing printing presses and other tools of the trade and gradually accumulated a collection that documents the progression of the technology through the days of hot type to today’s cold-type methods.

“But what happens here is that the visitor swallows the pill of education without even realizing it,” Barbour says. In its presentation of the printing trade, the museum also provides the inescapable lessons in democracy and freedom that intertwine with printing’s rich history. “We also touch on the evolution of business, of labor unions and inventing,” Barbour adds.

Weekend visitors are invited to watch a live performance in the museum’s theater complex that makes the historical personalities of printing spring to life. Johann Gutenberg, who invented movable type in 15th-Century Germany, sings about his struggle to print the entire Bible while using his new method. And Benjamin Franklin tells of printing’s involvement in the American Revolution.

A restaurant and gift shop are scheduled to open at the museum within a few months. Future plans also include hands-on workshops in papermaking and hand-set printing methods.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Address: 8469 Kass Drive, Buena Park

Telephone: (714) 523-2070 or 714-523-2080 recorded information