Their impetus was primarily exhibition, technical exchange, shared equipment, and the promotion of printmaking as a fine art, as opposed to a method of reproducing images.

Throughout the 1950s and well into the 1980s short histories of the society penned by various elected officers always referred to CSE/CSP as " the second oldest" continuous operating club in the United States.

Mary Millman and Dave Bohn's very thorough biography of John W. Winkler, cited above, supports the CSE founding date of 1912.

The founding of CSE is intimately connected with the Panama–Pacific International Exposition (PPIE), a world's fair held in 1915 in San Francisco to showcase the city's recovery from the 1906 earthquake.

The four founders of the California Society of Etchers were artist colleagues: Robert B. Harshe (1879–1938), himself an etcher and then art professor at Stanford University;[3] Pedro Joseph J. Lemos (1882–1954), then etcher and professor at the San Francisco Institute of Art (now San Francisco Art Institute);[4] Gottardo Piazzoni (1872–1945), painter and muralist; and Ralph Stackpole (1885–1973), a sculptor, printmaker, and at that time Piazzoni's studio assistant.

The primary purpose of the Society was exhibition and education, promoting printmaking as a fine art, and sharing workspace and equipment.

Among the most prominent associate members were the Moore S. Achenbachs, the Sigmund Sterns, Dr. Leon Kolb, the Milton Esbergs, the Zellerbachs, Albert M. Bender, and institutions such as the De Young Museum, Oakland Public Library, and the Print Club of Albany New York.

California Society of Etchers (CSE) had enjoyed a dedicated executive secretary, Nicholas Dunphy (1896–1955), for more than 20 years, from 1932 to his death in 1955.

As the work poured in, Paul Mills, then director of the Oakland Museum of Art, provided the venue, and remained a strong supporter during the next five national exhibitions.

The jurying took place at the home of Eldon Mills, friend of Mel Strawn, and an active supporter of Bay Printmakers; it was monitored/observed by Sabro Hasegawa, a visiting teacher from Japan at CCAC.

Charter members of the Bay Printmakers Society included artists Beth Van Hoesen (1926–2010 ), John Ihle (1925–2002),[8] Karl Kasten (1916–2010 ), Nathan Oliveira (1928–2010 ), Gordon Cook (1927–1985), Virginia Vandegrift, and art collector Eldon Mills.

After John Paul Jones, BPS jurors were printmaker Leonard Edmondson (1916–2002); poet Kenneth Patchen (1911–1972); and Director of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts Ernst Gunter Troche (1909–1971).

Other CSE national annual jurors were: 1961 Gordon Cook; 1965 Wayne Thiebaud, Alan Lynch, and Moses Lasky.

Recent and continuing programs include: educationally focused public outreach and engagement activities, artist residencies, commissioned prints, studio visits and demonstrations, visiting artist talks and workshops, portfolio projects, shelter-in-place grants, membership engagement grants, and a wide variety of exhibition opportunities.

Membership benefits include self-managed website portfolios, receipt of all publications, and a wide range of engagement and professional opportunities.

CSP publishes a journal The California Printmaker (ISSN: 2769-7894) which became an annual full color publication edited by Susan Leone Howe in 2015.