The union was founded in 1921 as the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine Ruling and Paper Workers when the National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers and the National Union of Printing and Paper Workers merged.

The Platen Printing Machine Minders' Society and the London Society of Machine Rulers soon also joined.

In 1926, its central London branch broke away, but rejoined in 1931.

Following mergers with several small unions, in 1966 it joined with the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants to form the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades.

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