The University of Wisconsin’s StudentPrint — a student-run print shop — celebrated 50 years on campus Wednesday night at the Marquee Theater. 

StudentPrint showed a 15-minute documentary while members and alumni joined together to enjoy some refreshments and food.  

StudentPrint started in 1972 to create flyers, posters, brochures and more during the civil rights movement, according to the documentary. It was originally founded by staff, but the staff was not able to continue running the business, so it switched to being student-run in 1998.

StudentPrint is a business controlled and owned by students, providing a good stepping stone for students to learn how to run a business with hands-on experience, according to the documentary.

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The documentary consisted of interviews with current StudentPrint workers along with alumni. Students shared stories in the documentary about the campus print shop, such as a tradition that includes naming former workers to always remember those who worked there before.

The COVID pandemic hit StudentPrint heavily, according to the documentary. The shop survived off of a thriving campus, but when lockdowns occurred, customers became scarce. On March 27, 2021, StudentPrint had to close its doors, according to the documentary.

A week following the closure, the Associated Students of Madison reached out to StudentPrint and offered a deal from the Union. The Union absorbed StudentPrint and now helps fund it, according to the documentary.

The print shop survived the pandemic and has exceeded budget goals since, according to the documentary. Many current students who work at StudentPrint said in the documentary they see it growing quickly.

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StudentPrint credits much of its success to receiving a space in the Student Activity Center, which is located at 333 East Campus Mall. This location allowed StudentPrint to become more accessible for students and helped it grow, according to the documentary.

The crowd at the event was filled with StudentPrint alumni and current members, who asked questions at the end of the documentary.