L'Atelier du Livre d'Art

A modern and active workshop

In the light of its 500 year history of excellence, the Imprimerie Nationale’s Atelier du Livre d’Art et de l’Estampe continues to print books with artists and contemporary authors, and perfectly reproduces original works of art.

Upon request, the workshop designs exclusive contemporary fonts. It is currently digitizing its historical types. The Atelier is both modern and active.

Five centuries of excellence

Type designer, the punch cutter, the type founder, Latin and Oriental typographic compositors, typographic printers, engravers, the lithographer-collotypist, the bookbinder and the papermaker all work together. This outstanding team operates a pool of unique machines on a daily basis such as the collotype press or the 18th Century engraving press.

Despite their age, these machines and techniques are still relevant today.

Traditional but up to date custom-made services

Our craftsmen can fulfil all requests made by editors, artists, gallery owners, book lovers or collectors, public institutions or private businesses.

These experts preserve the Cabinet des Poinçons (Punch Room), a collection of 670 000 works, the majority of which are listed as Historical Monuments. They use exclusive typefaces such as François Ier’s Garamont, Louis XIV’s Grandjean or the Gauthier (created in 1970). These craftsmen are passionate about their work and are proud to work with over 60 different fonts from across the world.

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