Brief History of Printing

Printing was first conceived and developed in China. Primitive woodblock printing was already in use by the 6th century 9 (see left). The oldest surviving book printed using the more sophisticated block printing, the Diamond Sutra (a Buddhist scripture), dates from 868. The movable type printer was invented by Pi Sheng in 1040. The movable type metal printing press was invented in Korea in 1234 during Koryo Dynasty -216 years ahead of Gutenberg in 1450. By the 12th and 13th century many Chinese libraries contained tens of thousands of printed books.
There is little direct evidence, but it is highly probable that Chinese printing technology diffused into Europe through trade links that went through India and on through the Arabic world. Johann Gutenberg, of the German city of Mainz, developed European printing technology in 1440. Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer experimented with him in Mainz. Basing the design of his machine on a wine-press, Gutenberg developed the use of raised and movable type, and from the start used oil-based inks.
The development of the printing press revolutionised book production and the spread of knowledge. A printing press was built in Venice in 1469, and by 1500 the city had 417 printers. In 1470 Johann Heynlin set up a printing press in Paris. In 1476 a printing press was developed in England by William Caxton. The Italian Juan Pablos set up an imported press in Mexico City in 1539. Stephen Day was the first to build a printing press in North America at Massachusetts Bay in 1628, and helped establish the Cambridge Press.
Early print shops (near the time of Gutenberg) were run by "master printers." These printers owned shops, selected and edited manuscripts, determined the sizes of print runs, sold the works they produced, raised capital and organized distribution.
• Early print shop apprentices: Usually between the ages of 15 and 20, worked for master printers. Apprentices were not required to be literate, and literacy rates at the time were very low, in comparison to today. Apprentices prepared ink, dampened sheets of paper, and assisted at the press. An apprentice who wished to learn to become a compositor had to learn Latin and spend time under the supervision of a journeyman.
• Early Journeyman printers: After completing their apprenticeships, journeyman printers were free to roam Europe with their tools of trade and print where they journeyed to. This facilitated the spread of printing to areas that were less print-centred.
• Early Compositors: Those who set the type for printing.
• Early Pressmen: the person who ran the press. This was physically labour intensive.
Master print shops became the cultural centre for literati.
The earliest-known image of a European, Gutenberg-style print shop is the Dance of Death by Matthias Huss, at Lyon, 1499. This image depicts a compositor standing at a compositor's case being grabbed by a skeleton. The case is raised to facilitate his work. The image also shows a pressman being grabbed by a skeleton. To the right of the print shop a bookshop is shown.
In Prints and Visual Communication, William Ivins offers the following concise history of a series of rapid innovations in image and type printing at the end of the eighteenth century:
At the end of the eighteenth century there were several remarkable innovations in the graphic techniques and those that were utilized to make their materials. Bewick developed the method of using engraving tools on the end of the wood. Senefelder discovered lithography. Blake made relief etchings. Early in the nineteenth century Stanhope, George E. Clymer, Koenig and others introduced new kinds of type presses, which for strength surpassed anything that had previously been known.
In 2006 there are approximately 30,700 printing companies in the United States, accounting for $112 billion, according to the 2006 U.S. Industry & Market Outlook by Barnes Reports.

Methods and Formats of Managing Financial Outlay
Johannes Fust was, for some time, Gutenberg's financial backer.
Supporting publishers were more and more complex, leading to this division of labour. In Europe between 1500 and 1700 the role of the Master Printer was dying out and giving way to the bookseller – publisher. Printing during this period had a stronger commercial imperative than previously. Risks associated with the industry however were substantial, although dependent on the nature of the publication.
Bookseller publishers negotiated at trade fairs and at print shops. Jobbing work appeared in which printers did menial tasks in the beginning of their careers to support themselves.
1500 – 1700: Publishers developed several new methods of funding projects.
1. Cooperative associations/publication syndicates—a number of individuals shared the risks associated with printing and shared in the profit. This was pioneered by the French.
2. Subscription publishing—pioneered by the English in the early 17th century. A prospectus for a publication was drawn up by a publisher to raise funding. The prospectus was given to potential buyers who signed up for a copy. If there were not enough subscriptions the publication did not go ahead. Lists of subscribers were included in the books as endorsements. If enough people subscribed a reprint might occur. Some authors used subscription publication to bypass the publisher entirely.
3. Installment publishing—books were issued in parts until a complete book had been issued. This was not necessarily done under a specific time-allotment. It was an effective method of spreading cost over a period of time. It also allowed earlier returns on investment to help cover production costs of subsequent installments.
The Mechanick Exercises, by Joseph Moxon, in London, 1683, was said to be the first publication done in installments.
Publishing trade organizations allowed publishers to organize business concerns collectively. Systems of self-regulation occurred in these arrangements. For example, if one publisher did something to irritate other publishers he would be controlled by peer pressure. These arrangements helped deal with labour unrest among journeymen, who faced difficult working conditions. Brotherhoods predated unions, without the formal regulations now associated with unions.

Modern printing technology
The first commercial offset printing press was invented in 1903 by Ira Washington Rubel in the USA. Books and newspapers are printed today using the technique of offset lithography. Other common techniques include flexography, relief print, (mainly used for catalogues), screen printing, rotogravure, inkjet, hot wax dye transfer, and laser printing. The first computer to plate system, back in 1974, was the Lasergraph--a laser ablation device which made relief letterpress plates. The Lasergraph didn't amount to much because letterpress was declining and the CO2 laser took more power than was needed to run the press. But within the next few years, a whole number of digital plate systems came on the scene. DRUPA in 1990 actually saw the introduction of what most of us would call the first direct imaging plates. It should also be noted that while a large body of the industry has been striving to solve computer to plate problems affecting the conventional offset lithographic business, others have been taking a different tack. At IPEX in 1993, both Indigo and Xeikon first showed machines that have dramatically changed the playing field. Digital printing primarily uses an electrical charge to transfer toner or liquid ink to the substrate it is printed on. Digital print quality has steadily improved from color and black & white copiers to sophisticated color digital presses like the Xerox iGen3, the Kodak Nexpress and the HP Indigo series presses. The iGen3 and Nexpress use toner particles and the Indigo uses liquid ink. All three are made for small runs and variable data, and almost rival offset in quality. Digital offset presses are called direct imaging presses; although these receive computer files and automatically turn them into print-ready plates, they cannot do variable data.
Now it relates to the fact that we must change the way we have done things for the past 40 years or so. It has to do with the fact that we can no longer operate little independent empires and still get the job done. Computer to plate workflow does not mean changing just one part of your operation, it means changing your
entire operation.

Sony E-Book reader 2006

In 2006 the developement of digital books advanced with the arrival of the Sony e-Book reader. Its breakthrough electronic paper technology provides clarity and resolution that rival paper itself. The 6-inch screen is as easy to read in full daylight as indoors, and can be viewed from nearly any angle. Forgot your reading glasses? Enlarge text up to 200%. How will this affect the printing world? we will weight and see.
Measuring 6.9” by 4.9” by .5”, the Sony® Reader is smaller than many paperbacks. And at less than 9 ounces,8 Its rechargeable battery powers you through up to 7,500 page turns, and can be recharged in as little as 4 hours with the AC adapter.
What is E Ink® Technology?
The Sony® Reader’s display uses E Ink® - a significant improvement over CRT and LCD technology. Instead of rows of glowing cells, E Ink® microcapsules actually appear as either black or white depending on a positive or negative charge determined by the content. The result is a reading experience that’s similar to paper - high contrast, high resolution, viewable in direct sunlight and at a nearly 180-degree angle, and requiring no power to maintain the image.