The last few years we've been using CLP for our school curriculum so when I found out we would be passing really close to their printing shop, we made plans to take their free tour. We'd highly recommend it to anyone, whether or not you use their curriculum. I was to fascinated to take many pictures but here is the few that I have!
Our tour included the offices of writers, editors, illustrators, designers, and everything else involved in writing and printing a book. Which, is much more then we ever imagined!
This curriculum is light unit based so we saw pallets and pallets of unbound pages sitting around.
A roll of paper contains 5 miles of paper! They print an average of 5 rolls a day. Our guide had the children try to push it but they couldn't budge it! We were happy when they offered us an almost empty roll. It has enough paper to last us for years :).
The printing press. The roll of paper was feed through 3 different printers, each one printing only 3 colors. Then it was flipped the other way and went through the next three printers, that printed the second side. One of my favorite parts was watching it flip the paper and never slow down or tear it!
As it came out of the last printer, the paper was cut and stacked. Michael loved the little cars tied on the papers with fish string. The printer told us they had thousands of miles on their little wheels!
More stacks of paper, after it had been cut into page size.The cutter was a sight to behold too. We didn't get to see it in action but were told that it can cut a 12 inch stack of paper like a warm butter knife cuts soft butter.
This machine folds and staples 1,000 light units an hour! We also watched as packers received orders through the internet, pulled books from the shelves, double-checked the order, and packed boxes for shipping.
CLP is located in Harrisonburg, VA. Along with the great tour, they also have a bookstore that we loved shopping at. If you go for a tour, on Friday afternoons they shut down early for cleaning. Calling ahead of time is a good idea.
We stayed at an RV Park near Aroda, VA and spent a few days with Eldon's sister Judith who currently lives there.
Love our cute little photo bomber :).
We had the most beautiful snow while in Virginia.
The children were especially excited and spent hours getting cold and wet! Saturday morning we had brunch with friends who used to live in Arkansas with us and our children had a grand time together, making snowmen and sledding.
