What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 12pm - 4pm Wednesday 12pm - 4pm Thursday 12pm - 4pm Friday 12pm - 4pm Saturday 12pm - 4pm

Pen-y-Coe Press

A volunteer-run shop with a lot of heart, nestled in Penicuik. Stationery, cards, notebooks, art materials, local books, maps, and in-house printed goods.

Home to a treasured vintage Heidelberg press. Part of Penicuik Community Development Trust. Pen-y-Coe Press is a volunteer-run project of the Penicuik Community Development Trust (Scottish Charity No. SC042395). Any personal information you share with us through Facebook will only be used to respond to your enquiry or provide the service you've requested. We respect your privacy and do not share your information with third parties except where required by law. Unless otherwise stated, photographs and content on this page are © Pen-y-Coe Press or are used with permission.

25/09/2026

We have just 3 places left for this one, so if you've been thinking about it, now's the time!

Morag Donkin is running a Linocut Workshop here at Pen-y-Coe Press on Wednesday 28 October, from 10.30am to 1.30pm. Over three hours, you'll cut, carve and print your own A5 lino design, try our historic book press, and take home your finished prints to keep.

No experience needed. All materials provided. £35.

To book your place, get in touch with Morag directly at [email protected]. She'll be happy to answer any questions too.

Linocut artwork on the poster by Wendy Nightingale.

15/09/2026

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗻-𝘆-𝗖𝗼𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆. ❤️

As a small independent shop, every little bit of support helps us reach more people, and some of the easiest ways to help don’t cost a thing.

If you enjoy seeing what we get up to, give one of our posts a like, leave us a comment or share something with your friends. Those small actions help introduce Pen-y-Coe Press to people who might never have discovered us otherwise.

Facebook’s mysterious workings may be beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, but apparently it likes all this sort of thing. 😄

And if you’re nearby, pop in and see us. You’ll find stationery, cards, gifts, workshops and, of course, a fair bit of printing history. We’re much friendlier than the algorithm.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. ❤️

14/09/2026

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 "𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲" 𝗮𝗻𝗱 "𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲" 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺?

We use them all the time, particularly when creating documents on computers, but they actually come from the printing trade.

Before computers, every letter had to be placed by hand to build up a page for printing. The individual pieces of type were stored in a printer's case of letters, with capital letters kept in the upper part and the other letters in the lower part.

They describe something that was once a very literal part of a printer's working life. And if you look carefully at our type cases here at the Press, you'll see exactly what those early printers meant.

13/09/2026

𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 "𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀"? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲.

In letterpress printing, individual pieces of type are known as sorts. A compositor setting a job would need a good supply of the right letters, so running out of a particular sort in the middle of the job was an unwelcome interruption.

Over time, being "out of sorts" came to mean feeling low, irritable or generally not quite yourself.

So next time you're feeling a little out of sorts, spare a thought for the compositor who simply couldn't find enough e's. 😄

Do you have a favourite phrase with an unexpected printing connection?

11/09/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 "𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗣𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗤𝘀"?

For apprentices learning the printing trade, it was easy to confuse the mirror-image p and q pieces of type. Experienced compositors would remind them to take care with their work, and “mind your Ps and Qs” became a useful bit of advice.

The phrase eventually took on its familiar meaning: mind your manners and behave yourself.

10/09/2026

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼'𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗱𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 "𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴"? 🪙

The answer may be hiding in the old printing trade.

In traditional letterpress printing, type was cast to a standard height of 0.918 inches, which happened to be the same height as a British shilling. Compositors could keep a shilling in their apron as a handy little gauge. If a piece of type was badly cast or damaged, and therefore not the correct height, it was literally "not the full shilling".

The phrase eventually took on its modern meaning, describing someone who is a little odd, eccentric or perhaps not quite right.

Another everyday expression with an unexpectedly practical printing connection.

Do you know any other phrases with unusual origins? 👇

08/09/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 “𝗱𝗮𝗯 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱”?

It's a phrase we still use today to describe someone who's particularly skilled at something, especially a practical task. But its origins lie in the printing trade, and with a rather more literal meaning.

Before printing rollers were introduced, printers used 𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 to apply ink to type. Getting an even, thin coating of ink took skill, and those who were particularly good at it became known as a “dab hand”.

So there you have it. Another everyday phrase with its roots in the world of printing.

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗯 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴? Tell us what it is! 👇

06/09/2026

𝗦𝗔𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘

Did you know that "making a good impression" started life as a printer's phrase? Before a print run, the type had to be perfectly level. Get that right and you'd make a good impression. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is the first in our occasional series: Sayings from the Printing Trade. More to follow.

04/09/2026

🐾 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸.

One of our talented volunteers, 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲, creates beautiful hand-drawn portraits of pets from photographs. She can then turn the finished portrait into the cover of a personalised notebook, giving you a little reminder of a much-loved companion every time you pick it up.

Dogs and cats are clearly well represented here, but Debbie can work from photographs of all sorts of pets, whether they have paws🐾, feathers🐦 or fins🐟.

Notebooks are available in a range of sizes, with prices depending on the size and complexity of the portrait.

If you'd like to find out more, e-mail [email protected] and we'll put you in touch with Debbie.

Which of your four-legged, feathered or finned friends deserves a notebook of their own?

02/09/2026

🖊️ 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀.

"𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 3 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦."

That's his card, which sits beside his display under our counter at the Press.

Damon hand-turns every pen himself, working with a range of woods including American Black Walnut, Purple Heart, Spalted Ash, White Oak and Ash. Each has a wax finish and either gunmetal or silver trim.

There are also acrylic pens in Green & Black Shimmer and Pearl White & Yellow, with black or silver trim.

No two pens are quite the same, and knowing the time and care that goes into making each one makes them all the more interesting.

𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀: £33
𝗔𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀: £28

If you're looking for a pen that's a little different, come in and have a look. You might find one with your name on it. ✍️

Address

7 Bridge Street
Penicuik
EH268LL

Opening Hours

Tuesday	12pm - 4pm
Wednesday	12pm - 4pm
Thursday	12pm - 4pm
Friday	12pm - 4pm
Saturday	12pm - 4pm

Website

https://www.instagram.com/thepenycoepress/, https://penicuikcdt.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Pen-y-Coe Press posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed Shop in Penicuik?