Bureau of Engraving and Printing
One block south of the Mall at 14th and C sts SW; closest
Metro stop is Smithsonian. Mon-Fri 9am-2pm (with extended evening
hours from 5-7pm in summer); May-Aug arrive early to pick up a
timed ticket; Sept-April no ticket necessary. Closed Christmas to
New Year. Admission free. tel 202/622-2000,
In most ways, a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing is like visiting any other printing plant. The
difference is that the presses here crank out millions of dollars
in currency every day, $120 billion a year. It's a surprisingly
low-tech operation: the bills come off in huge sheets, which are
sliced up into single bills by ordinary paper cutters, checked for
defects and loaded into large wheelbarrows. The Bureau also
produces all US postage stamps. A short film explains the basics of
intaglio printing, and you can watch it all happen from a
glassed-in upstairs gallery.
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