History of printing, in short

 

Printing refers to the process of reproducing words or images on paper, metals, textiles or different types of materials. Sometimes, the procedure has been named graphic art. The history of printing is one of the most widely documented aspects of any civilization. Throughout history, the majority of printings were performed using a mechanical method. However, the modern printing process is mostly based on photomechanical and chemical methods. The use of stones as official seals is one of the oldest types of printing known to history. This type of printing stones was used during the earliest times of the Ancient Age, especially in Babylonia, where they accompanied signatures or reproduced religious symbols. The devices were made up either of seals and stamps used at imprinting clayware, or of stones having different models carved on their surface.

 

The stone, which usually had the shape of a ring, had to undergo a process of brushing, during which pigments or soil-based solutions were used, followed by a process of pressing it against a smooth surface, in order to perform the impression. The inventor of the printing process is considered to be Johann Gutenberg, born in Mainz, Germany, also known as the "father of printing". His invention, the printing press, was recorded in 1450. Gutenberg's first books also included the book known as the "Gutenberg Bible". This book surpassed in beauty any other previously printed book.
The machine used to transfer the ink from the metal printing platen to the printed page, is called a printing press. The early printing machines, such as the ones dating back in the XVI century or even earlier, were the screw printing presses, with their main procedure consisting in applying the right pressure on the type, which was placed face up on a flat plane. The paper, usually dampened, was pressed by the movable surface onto the printing surface. After the type was impregnated with ink, the movable surface was screwed tight until it reached the type. The press was equipped with slide rails, so that the type could be slid out of the machine and brought back to its position on the flat plane without lifting and removing the movable surface. Nevertheless, the whole procedure was slow.

An average printing press used to produce about 250 impressions per hour. During the XVII century, the existing printing presses became equipped with springs, in order to improve and quicken the lifting of the movable surface. The metal printing press was introduced about the year 1800 and, more or less at the same time, levers were introduced, to substitute the screwing systems which lowered the movable surface to the flat plane. Even though the best printing presses of those times produced only 300 impressions per hour, much bigger types could be used by means of the metal printing press, as compared to the wooden printing press, and so the operator of the printing press could produce so many more pages by each printing/impression.

The evolution of the printing process has continued ever since, until it has reached its present stage.