Print-Oriented Bastards was established by Marci Calabretta and Ines Pujos in Pittsburgh, PA after being awarded the Charles C. Dawe Memorial Award from Carnegie Mellon University. The first issue was released in Fall 2011. Since then, artists and writers from all over the States and as far-reaching as Mexico and the UK have been included in the journal, from first-time publications to award-winning work.

In Summer 2014, the journal switched from print-only to an online magazine.