The History Of Printing

The History of Printing & Ink In the 21st century it is difficult to appreciate how much printing is an accepted part of our everyday lives. That's why we've put together a detailed infographic of the History of Printing. The Beginning of Printing In Europe this time period is known as 'prehistoric' or a time before written evidence. Cave paintings have been found across Europe that used red, ochre or black manganese. The inks and dyes came from sap, animal blood and other things found in nature and cave painters would use walls instead of paper. They would use animal bones to suck up the ink and to blow the ink into shapes on the wall. The Islamic Empires used a writing instrument called a galam which was usually made from a reed. Burnt resins such as tar or oil and then honey or gum were added before being compressed and dried. Similar to the Chinese, early ink was compressed into a tablet which made it easier to transport. Evidence of printing exists from around 3000 BC, where an impress would be rolled onto clay tablets to copy and duplicate images. Generally, for 4,000 years all writing was done by hand, one character at a time. This was copied out by hånd by a scribe and was so expensive only the rich could afford this. One of the many things that Ancient Egyptians gave to the world was black ink. This was made by mixing black soot with vegetable oil and beeswax, gelatine and gum may also have been used. To make ink of different colours a different material was used instead of soot, for example, ochre. The fact that so many clearly legible pieces of writing survive to this day is testament to the quality of this ink. Egyptian scribes used a soft reed, with which the ink was brushed on. In Ancient Egypt stencils were used to decorate tombs, where sculptors created an outline around this pattern. Once complete this would be decorated with paint, usually a bright colour such as red, yellow or blue. The Greeks used a hard reed as a pen that was split at the tip and cut into a nib which needed to be constantly sharpened. The most common form of writing was a stylus on wax or clay. The wax was poured into a hollowed out depression in piece of wood. Papyrus was available from Egypt on which ink was used. Since papyrus was expensive and sometimes not available parchment was dėveloped. Ink was used on the parchment. Writing could be carved into wood or stone for signs or plaques Ancient Romans also used Egyptian papyrus to write on but this was very valuable. They used quills for their pens and their ink contained soot, gum. vinegar and sometimes even octopus ink. Imperial Rome had a large population, to meet demand for printed works, battalions of slaves would copy out the works of the great classical heroes. "Books' in Ancient Rome were simply a large piece of papyrus with two wooden poles on with side. News was passed on through the ActaDiurna, or government announcements by Julius Caesar; these were carved into wood or metal and put up in public places. Printing in East Asia Evidence of the earliest Chinese inks comes from around 256 BC, these inks were made from soot and animal glue. We can trace back the use of inks with the use of natural plant dyes, animal and mineral links as well as ground up materials such as graphite. The Chinese brush is believed to have been invented by Ming Tien in the Third Century BC alongside the development of paper, however there is evidence that painting on silk occurred much earlier than this. By the 11th century the Japanese market was dominated by Buddhist texts and images; the advent of print initially had a iimited impact in Japan where the process was time- consuming and too expensive to be widely accessible. In Korea there was a much higher demand for both religious and secular books and there is evidence of a Block Painting Moveable Type This technique involves using glue to stick a thin piece of paper to wood; the characters are then carved into the wood, creating an impression of the text or images. This method uses moveable components to reproduce text and characters; Bi Sheng arranged characters on an iron plate which could then be reused. transition from woodblock printing to moveable type print as far back as the 13th century. Advances To Printing Pre-15th Century Despite the fact that the Chinese had developed moveable type, printing in Europe during the same period did not progress at the same rate. From the period we call the 'dark ages' to the 15th century, the format of producing text remained the same. From Anglo-Saxon Britain 400 manuscripts survive, which form the basis of historical evidence about how people lived before the Norman Conquest. This is an impressive achievement since producing written works during this period was a long and laborious process: monks in monasteries wouid copy out the text by hand and illustrate it beautifully. By the 11th century, there was a greater need for texts due to Norman administrative and religious reforms. The development of universities also contributed to an increasing demand for texts; however, the method of creating books remained the same and scribes in monasteries continued to create these works by hand. This had the effect of making books incredibly expensive, and only the rich were able to afford them. There is evidence that block cutters and textile stampers were being used in early medieval Europe which could print letters and patterns onto fabrics. Woodblock printing had arrived in Europe in the 14th century from China, as had paper, and leă to the development'of printing patterns onto textiles. Woodblock printing involves carving patterns and lines into a block of wood and printing this onto paper. Most images were printed on cloth to be displayed on walls or on altars. With the increasing availability of paper after the 14th century, woodcuts became more widely åvailable and more popular. This was a technique particularly used in Germaný to produce religious scenes. This still remained'a labour inteńsive task and the original wood blocks would need to be continuously replaced. The use of woodblock printing led to a new artistic style in medieval Europe where pictures had simple, thin lines which made printing easier. Other methods were developed by the 15th century which involved cutting lines into metal and printing from this. The Renaissance Johannes Gutenberg & the Printing Revolution Johannes Gutenberg was born in the town of Mainz in Germany and died penniless there in 1468. His invention however, revolutionised printed text and kick-started the Reformation in Europe, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution for he was the father of the printing press; an innovation that rightly deserves to be called a revolution. As well as the technology, Gutenberg developed an oil-based ink which was more resilient than water based inks, inks previously used for handwriting tended to blur when used in the printing press. In around 1440AD a lot It was based on existing screw pressures and incorporated previous technologies; however this development included a matrix (a mould for casting letters) which is estimated to contain 290 separate letter boxes. Gutenberg experimented with different methods and between 1450-55 produced the Gutėnberg Bible; this was produced with 42 lines on each page and is sometimes known as the 42 line Bible. after a lot of time experimenting with different designs, Gutenberg creăted a printing press that was operated by hand. Gutenberg experimented with materials and made an alloy of lead, tin and antimony; this produced high quality books and proved to print very successfully. This ink was made from soot, turpentine and walnut oil and may even have included ingredient such as litharge (lead monoxide) and unknown plant extracts. It is not known how many copies were actually produced, it is estimatéd between 180- 200, but only 22 of these survivé today that are complete and they are probably the most valuable printed material in the world. His new technology enabled a quick way to produce very precíse moulds. The Industrial Era Of Printing Engraving and Etching His advancements were aided by developments in engraving and etching. Mezzotint In the mid-eighteenth century Ludwig von Šeigen developed a new method of printing images called Mezzotint ('half-tinted'). This allowed a reproduction of shades of tone in'a picture and became particularly popular with reproductions of pórtraits Lithography and Chromolithography In 1796 a Bavarian named Alois Senefelder invented Lithography which allowed the application of text or printed images to different surfaces. Colour Printing and Zincography Colour printing still remained time consuming and expensive as it required a number of different plates which were added over the original design; nevertheless, it allowed people to hang colour prints and pictures on walls and it becăme increasingly popular. Rotary Cylinders and Rotary Presses With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries came developments in printing. Changes in industry allowed printing presses to be powered by steam, therefore alleviating the problem of the manpower required for serious mass production. Jobbing Press and Offset Printing For more commercial needs, the jobbing press was a much smaller press that allowed the printing of smaller pieces that were business specific for example, business cards, envelopes and advertisements. 21st Century Printing In 1958 the first commercial photocopier was made available. Although colour toner was available from the 1950s, the first commercially available colour photocopiers were not available until 1968. Digital technology is increasingly being incorporated into 21st century photocopiers and it is not unusual to find printer/scanner/photocopier combinations widely available that reduce the cost of colour photocopying in the home. Xerox also developed the laser printer in 1969 based on a modification of a Xerox copier. The image is produced by the scanning of a laser across the printer's photoreceptor. Laser printers could provide high quality printing in a small amount of time and allowed business to be flexible in their use of fonts. This was a significant development as this was the first fully networked method of printing. One of the many things that Ancient Egyptians gave to the world was black ink. This was made by mixing black soot with vegetable oil and beeswax, gelatine and gum may also have been used. To make ink of different colours a different material was used instead of soot, for example, ochre. The fact that so many clearly legible pieces of writing survive to this day is testament to the quality of this ink. Egyptian scribes used a soft reed, with which the ink was brushed on. In Ancient Egypt stencils were used to decorate tombs, where sculptors created an outline around this pattern. Once complete this would be decorated with paint, usually a bright colour such as red, yellow or blue. Three-dimensional printing or 3D printing is any of various processes used to make a three-dimensionai object. In 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control. These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. A 3D printer is a type of industrial robot. Sources: Quantum Binders https://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-printing-and-ink/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing * Ltd