The working conditions in the mills were poor. For all types of linen spinning and weaving the atmosphere needed to be hot and humid. In the wet spinning rooms, where most of the children worked, the floors were always wet and the workers were barefoot to stop themselves slipping. Clothes were saturated with the spray from the spindles. Children in the wet spinning rooms often developed lung diseases. In the weaving factories, humidity often reached within a degree or two of saturation point causing evaporation from the body to stop, which caused body temperatures to rise and resulted in workers experiencing giddiness and lassitude. They were also vulnerable to bronchitis. After working in stifling conditions for twelve hours, they stepped outside into the cool evening air with their bodies and clothes still damp.

The men and women who spent long hours in unhealthy working conditions to earn poor wages are today forgotten. By the 1960s, the industry had declined and the linen production equipment was obsolete. Some of the mills still stand but the linen equipment has been removed and is now exhibited in museums for visitors and history students to admire. Anonymous accounts of the memories and harsh experiences of mill workers are recorded. To imagine a mill worker's day, it takes you to walk into an old mill, to ascend the same stairs where hundreds of people walked, to sit in a room where spinners once worked, to look at the sturdy walls and wooden floors which were dampened by the workers' toil.

Built to house a linen mill in 1912, Pure Flax House was occupied by linen manufacturers for over 50 years from 1912-1966. This five storey, Edwardian building stands in the heart of the linen Conservation area in Belfast city centre. With a shabby and forlorn appearance, the building is in an area of urban renewal which is now being rejuvenated with luxury loft apartments and modern offices. Two world wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the Easter Rising in 1916 and the evolution of modern Ireland have come and gone. With the decline of the linen industry, a series of short-term tenants and owners have moved in and out of the building. Vacant during periodic recessions in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Print shop has been at this address since 1991.