Inspired by the industrial heritage of Cornwall, the theme of the 2026 Print Networks Conference will be under the heading of Print, Printing, and Industrial Heritage.

Cornwall was the centre of the trade in tin across Europe and the Mediterranean, a rare and precious commodity in the Bronze Age, recorded by such ancient authorities as Diodorus Siculus and Julius Caesar, and revived in the Middle Ages, when the grievances of tin miners led to the Cornish rebellion of 1497. Although the trade was in decline by the Victorian period, over the ages it has contributed to the particular sense of Cornish identity and has left an evocative heritage of industry.

Of course, the county is not unique in this respect and the theme itself is open to a wide range of interpretations. Topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Printing and Industrial Heritage(s) – Printed matter about trade and industry in all its various forms, industrial publishing in its widest sense, embracing the literature of trade and the business ephemera required for the smooth running of industry.

• Industrial Heritage of Printing – How the processes and practices of printing evolved in tandem with the growth of trade and industry, how printing adopted some of the processes of industry and how industry absorbed some of the process of printing, and how the industrial printing heritage is being preserved and promoted.

• Printing, Industry, and Local Identity – How print has contributed to the sense of local identity, with particular respect to aspects of trade and industry.

• Materials of Print and Printing – Lead, tin, antimony, iron/steel, paper, ink, leather, cloth, plastics, film, and photographic materials, their local industrial sources, development, and distribution.

• Print and the Industrial Landscape – Representations of local geography, geology, and topography in print, with particular respect to aspects of trade and industry.

• Print and the Language of Trade and Industry – How printed matter reflects and preserves the distinctive language and vocabulary of industrial heritage(s).

Proposals on all periods of print from early modern to the present are welcome. Papers relating specifically to Cornwall and the Celtic nations will be particularly appropriate, but other perspectives are also very welcome.

Proposals for papers of twenty minutes and for themed panels of three or more speakers are invited. Forms of presentation other than papers are also welcome, such as performance, film, artefacts and displays. Abstracts of 300 words should be accompanied by brief biographies and sent to Caroline Archer-Parré by 31 January 2026. It is understood that papers offered to the conference will be original work and will not have been previously delivered to any similar conference or published elsewhere.