The Evolution Of The Printing Press

Everybody thinks printing began on 15th century on Germany with Johannes Gutenberg, at least we have been taught so at school. Actually printing is an art that is significantly older than Gutenberg´s press. The first samples conserved come from China, about 220 BC, and they were woodblocks crafted to be stamped with ink on clothing. Buddhism help the transition from clothing decoration to key texts preservation, those key texts were impressed on clothing through woodblock printing. The oldest book impressed by this technique is the Diamond-Sutra in the fifth century.

There are many examples in India of Buddhism printing practices as Buddhism considered the texts in themselves essential and almost sacred for religious practices. Egypt and Japan also used the woodblock technique for printing. In Europe in the 1200’s woodblock stamps for printing clothes was well known, and in the 1400’s paper become available easily, artisans began to print religious images and playing cards.

In the 15th century Johannes Gutenberg developed the revolutionary idea of movable type. Movable type was revolutionary due to the fact that you could compose many words with (depending on the language) just 24 to 30 characters. Movable type was economic and could be used over and over again composing thousand of different words. Movable type was made of metal instead of woodblock, so it was more durable and quicker than woodblock, which in fact they were gigantic stamps. The metal used (lead) was perfect for the molds, easy to use and to work with. As important as the letters was the ink that Gutenberg developed - an oil-based ink more durable and with superior quality than water-based inks used before.

The movable type and printing press were such a success that after just 20 years of Gutenberg´s initial invention (1455), there were printers over the European continent from Kraków, Poland to Venice, Italy. Venice printers grew exponentially in 31 years, in 1469 the first printing press arrived at the gondolas city and by 1500 there were 417 printers working.

The first printing press used in America, was brought to Mexico City in 1539 and the first Asian press printing was introduced in the Philippines by the Spaniards in 1593. By 1638 the first printing press arrived at the New England colonies; these first printing presses later derived the company named The Cambridge Press.

Such was the success of printing that many banks and lenders specialized in printers and they evolved into the publishing industry which was a far more complex industry with authors, publishers and printers, which we now know as the publishing and media industry.

By: Mark J Gregory

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Mark Gregory is writing on behalf of the Cascade Group, who offer freelance graphic designers london and creative design agency london