University of Santo Tomas Publishing House (USTPH) was established in 1996. It was inspired by the four-century-old UST Press, which was founded in 1593. USTPH, formerly the UST Press, is probably the oldest continuing press in the world today. It is even older than Asia’s oldest university, the University of Santo Tomas

University of Santo Tomas

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...

, which was established in 1611. At present, it was equipped with high quality printing machines from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and advanced computer technology from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and other countries. The USTPH aims to provide extensively the creative and innovative outputs of the academe, not only within, but also outside the campus.

Renowned Writer Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, assumed as Director in 2010.

History

• In 1593, the Dominicans
  Dominican Order
  The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
  
   pioneered printing in the Philippines by producing through the old technique of xylography, a wooden block printing
  Woodblock printing
  Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
  
   press which was exhibited at the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences
  UST Museum of Arts and Sciences
  The University of Santo Tomas Museum of Arts and Sciences is the oldest existing museum in the Philippines. Started as a Gabinete de Fisica, an observation room of mineral, botany and biology collections in the 17th century...
  
  .
• In 1602, the Dominican Blancas de San Jose together with a Chinese
  Chinese people
  The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
  
   convert in Binondo made molds, types and instruments needed for typography
  Typography
  Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
  
  . Typographic printing in the Philippines was indigenous
  Indigenous language
  An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples but has been reduced to the status of a minority language. This language would be from a linguistically distinct community that has been settled in the area for many generations...
  
  , not imported from other countries it was recognized by Wenceslao Retana as "the semi-invention" of the press in the country.
• In 1625, the press open up at the Colegio de Santo Tomás
  University of Santo Tomas
  The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
  
  , soon became a university, and had since been known as the UST Press.
• In 1996, the UST Press was renamed UST Publishing House.

Early Publications

• Doctrina Cristiana - a catechism
  Catechism
  A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
  
   in Tagalog
  Tagalog language
  Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
  
   and Spanish
  Spanish language
  Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
  
  . The first book published in the Philippines.
• Baybayin
  Baybayin
  Baybayin , is a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system. It is a member of the Brahmic family and is recorded as being in use in the 16th century...
  
  - ancient Tagalog
  Tagalog language
  Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
  
   alphabet
• Shih-Lu (Apologia de la Verdadera Religion) - a catechism for the Chinese in the Philippines
• Historia de la Provincia del Santo Rosario de Filipinas by Diego Aduarte
  Diego Aduarte
  Diego Aduarte was a Spanish historian. He was a missionary to the Philippine Islands and in 1632 was made Prior of Manila, where he died in 1637....
  
   - a book about the Dominican Missions in the Far East
  Far East
  The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
  
  , which was widely considered to be the best printed book of the 17th century and the last of the incunabulas
• Flora en Filipinas - a classic book by Augustinian
  Augustinians
  The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
  
   Manuel Blanco. It consists of four big volumes with 479 plates, half of them in splendid color lithographs (a copy of the colossal publishing project is preserved in the Rare Books Section of the UST Central Library).

Present Publications

• scholarly books
• outstanding faculty researches
• monographs
• quality textbooks in all levels
• artworks and designs
• other educational printed materials