The History of Print

The history of print dates to BCE when civilization would write in clay or hieroglyphics were used to convey messages in tombs. The real printing began in the 15^th century when Gutenberg created the world’s first printing press named The Gutenberg Press. It was the perfected printing machine made for commercial use. 

The history of print has evolved in different phases up to where we are now with printers. There were different types of prints used depending on what culture you were in. The Japanese use a wood cut printing and did their calligraphy with a brush and ink. Intaglio printing is Italian and more detailed due to the etching of a surface. Stone Lithography was the process where an image was dram on limestone because it was a smooth and flat surface. 

      A popular technique that is still used today is screen printing. It is the transfer of an image using a screen mesh and ink. The ink is laid on the screen mesh with the ink and a squeegee or blade fills the mesh with ink and transfers the image. In addition, another technique still used like the letterpress is flexographic printing. It is used by large companies to produce labels for merchandise at a high speed. 

We have come a long way with different forms of printing with Heat Transfers and Offset Printing. If you think about it even millennial printers do all the work at a simple click away. In Conclusion, the history of type has evolved over time and continues to improve impacting design and print. 

                            Johannes Gutenberg

                                                              Image Source