A History of Printing

A HISTORY OF PRINTING 220 Carved blocks stained with dye were pressed against fabrics allowing patterns to be repeated easily. A.D. 1040 ABIO Movable type was invented meaning people could now print using just letters and punctuation, no longer needed a whole block per page. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press revolutionising printing and introducing mass communication. 1450 The Mezzotint method of printing was invented allowing for pictures to be created with different shades. 1642 1768 Aquatint, a variety of etching, was discovered allowing for an infinite number of tones to be achieved. Lithography was invented, a method of using oil, fat or wax to attract ink onto only the places where it is wanted. This process has been the basis for many future methods of printing. 1796 Chromolithography was invented to put colours in an image, each different colour had to put on a different plate and the printing process repeated for each colour. 1837 Rotary Drum printing was invented allowing for high speed printing by putting images on a large drum which would spin to press the images on the paper. 1843 Offset Lithography is invented as a development from Lithography. This method adds a few steps to the process but makes financial sense when mass printing. This is the dominant method for newspaper and book print today. 1875 The Mimeograph, a low cost printing press was invented. Early fanzines started adopting this technology as it was cheap. 1890 A patent is awarded for using silk screen printing, a method of stencilling which has been around for about 1000 years. This method later became popularised by Andy Warhol. 1907 The dye sublimation printer was invented allowing for continuous colour tones to be 1957 printed rather than making colours from different sized dots of base colours. The dot Matrix printers which many people will be familiar with are invented. These work by running a printer head back and forth and pressing an ink soaked ribbon onto the paper. They were cheap and easily available. 1964 The first laser printer was invented at Xerox it produces both fast and high quality printing. JA 1969 An inkjet printer arrives that can reproduce digital images, this printer works by propelling drop- lets of ink onto the paper. 1976 The first working 3D printer was created. This works by adding successive layers of different shapes. BD 1984 Finally a high quality colour laser printer gives companies an affordable price per page at low volumes 1989 Inkjet printers finally reach a stage where they overtake dot matrix printers for popularity in home use. 1990s 2002 The first functional 3D printed miniature kidney created. 2003 Wires are no longer needed to print with the first wireless printer. A person walks on a 3D printed prosthetic leg with all parts and joints printed together – no extra assembly required. 2008 A pocket sized printer which can print without using ink goes on sale. 2008 1T 2009 DIY kits allow people to make their own 3D printers. The first working 3D printed gun is created and the plans made freely available to everyone. 2013 litpouk WUK TONER PRINTER COPIER www.tonerprintercopier.co.uk Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_printing http://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/bmcwiki/doku.php/technology:media_technologies:3dprinting http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1212332,00.asp http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2246111,00.asp http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22421185 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379559/mezzotint http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31123/aquatint http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/343748/lithography http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510376/rotary-press http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sublimation_printer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_printing http://hayleysullivansportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/