Count Mark Lunning among the Denver art world's underappreciated treasures. To be sure, he's widely known among artists, having worked with more than 100 since he opened Open Press Ltd. in January 1989 and collaborated with noted Denver painter Dale Chisman on the firm's first print.

But to the general public, he registers hardly a flicker of recognition. And that's too bad, for several reasons.

The works produced at his 3,000-square-foot facility on the lower level of a former phone-exchange building at 40 W. Bayaud Ave. are of superior quality, and original prints are an excellent, less-expensive way to collect art, especially for beginners.

To be clear, because the word "print" has come to mean many things: Artists create original prints at Open Press, not reproductions.

They use such techniques as etching and monotype, which have been put to virtuosic use by such masters as Rembrandt van Rijn and Edgar Degas.

Besides providing artists the use of the costly presses and other necessary equipment for such work, Lunning serves as a master printer, collaborating with them by providing advice and support as well as occasional needed encouragement.

Colorado's best-known master printer is Bud Shark of Lyons. He boasts a substantial national reputation, having worked with artistic heavy hitters such as Jack Beal, John Buck, Susan Crile, Red Grooms, Don Ed Hardy, Robert Kushner, James Surls, William T. Wiley and Betty Woodman.

In 2002, to mark the 25th anniversary of his firm, Shark's Ink, the Gallery of Contemporary Art at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs sponsored a massive, retrospective of more than 100 original prints on which Shark and his assistants collaborated. If Lunning is not yet in Shark's league, he is certainly working hard to get there.

Although he works mainly with artists from Denver and the rest of the state, a few from as far away as Spain and New York City have sought his services.

In tribute to Open Press' growing stature and to celebrate its 15th, anniversary, the Gallery of Contemporary Art will host a large-scale survey of Lunning's print collaborations during an exhibition scheduled to open Aug. 20, 2004.

But viewers interested in seeing Lunning's collaborations don't have to wait until then. Open Press presents more or less monthly exhibitions of primarily prints produced at the facility in a compact, well-lit gallery adjacent to its work space.

On view through Jan. 17 are a group of untitled monotypes and photo-etchings by Denver artist Mary Mackey, who has been involved with printmaking for 15 years. Many people know her better as the owner of a gallery at 1900 W. 25th Ave., which opened in 1992 but largely has been inactive he past four years.

Least successful are the monotypes. The three larger ones 26 inches tall and 20 inches wide teem too decorative and owe too much of a debt to the cutouts of Henri Matisse. The slightly smaller ones with their irregular strips of color are simplistically composed, with the exception of one that has an overlay of black lines and, spots, giving it much-needed depth and dimension.

Considerably more interesting and adventuresome are the photo etchings, in which she has printed Polaroid pinhole images of the Great Sand Dunes National Monument and other landscapes using an ultraviolet emulsion transfer process.

This complex technique distances the final, often sketchy images same of which are printed in color or hand-colored later - even further from the natural reality they depict, giving them a ghostly and mysterious quality that seems to transcend the bounds of time.

Besides the sponsorship of regular shows such as Mackey's and his ongoing printmaking activities, Lunning hopes to boost interest in the medium with the establishment of a print collectors club. Members will be able to take part in workshops and discussions and meet visiting artists.

For $1,000 a year, devotees can become patron members. That sounds like a lot a money, but for that price, each participant will receive a new print each month created especially for the club. That works out to about $83 per artwork, a bargain by any measure.

Paralleling the beginning of Open Press, Chisman has created the first print for this new club, a handsome work that fittingly launches the firm on what hopefully will be at least 15 more years of significant contributions to the Colorado art scene.