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A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an surface resting upon a printing medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the cloth, paper, or other medium was brushed or rubbed repeatedly to achieve the transfer of ink and accelerated the process. Typically used for texts, the invention and global spread of the printing press was one of the most influential events in the second millennium.For example, in 1999, the A&E Network ranked Gutenberg no. 1 on their "People of the Millennium" countdown . In 1997, Time–Life magazine picked Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium ; the same did four prominent US journalists in their 1998 resume 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking The Men and Women Who Shaped The Millennium . The Johann Gutenberg entry of the Catholic Encyclopedia describes his invention as having made a practically unparalleled cultural impact in the Christian era.; ; ;
In Germany, around 1440, the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press, which started the Printing Revolution. Modelled on the design of existing , a single Renaissance movable-type printing press could produce up to 3,600 pages per workday, compared to forty by hand-printing and a few by scribe. Gutenberg's newly devised hand mould made possible the precise and rapid creation of metal movable type in large quantities. His two inventions, the hand mould and the movable-type printing press, together drastically reduced the cost of printing books and other documents in Europe, particularly for shorter print runs.
From Mainz, the movable-type printing press spread within several decades to over 200 cities in a dozen European countries.Febvre, Lucien; Martin, Henri-Jean (1976). The Coming of the Book: The Impact of Printing 1450–1800. London: New Left Books. Quoted in: Anderson, Benedict. Comunidades Imaginadas. Reflexiones sobre el origen y la difusión del nacionalismo. Fondo de cultura económica, Mexico, 1993. . pp. 58f. By 1500, printing presses in operation throughout Western Europe had already produced more than 20 million volumes. In the 16th century, with presses spreading further afield, their output rose tenfold to an estimated 150 to 200 million copies. The earliest press in the Western Hemisphere was established by Spaniards in New Spain in 1539, and by the mid-17th century, the first printing presses arrived in British colonial America in response to the increasing demand for and other religious literature.Bertold, 1970, pp. 20, 26, 39, The operation of a press became synonymous with the enterprise of printing and lent its name to a new medium of expression and communication, "Newspaper".:
The spread of mechanical movable type printing in Europe in the Renaissance introduced the era of mass communication, which permanently altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted circulation of information and ideas transcended borders, captured the masses in the Reformation, and threatened the power of political and religious authorities. The sharp increase in literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and learning and bolstered the emerging middle class. Across Europe, the increasing cultural self-awareness of its peoples led to the rise of proto-nationalism and accelerated the development of European vernaculars, to the detriment of Latin's status as lingua franca.Anderson, Benedict: Comunidades Imaginadas. Reflexiones sobre el origen y la difusión del nacionalismo, Fondo de cultura económica, Mexico 1993, , pp. 63–76 In the 19th century, the replacement of the hand-operated Gutenberg-style press by steam-powered allowed printing on an industrial scale.
The screw press which allowed direct pressure to be applied on a flat plane was already of great antiquity in Gutenberg's time and was used for a wide range of tasks. Introduced in the 1st century AD by the Romans, it was commonly employed in agricultural production for pressing grapes for wine and olives for oil, both of which formed an integral part of the Mediterranean and Medieval cuisine.; ; The device was also used from very early on in urban contexts as a cloth press for printing patterns. Gutenberg may have also been inspired by the paper presses which had spread through the German lands since the late 14th century and which worked on the same mechanical principles.
During the Islamic Golden Age, Arab Muslims were printing texts, including passages from the Qur’an, embracing the Chinese craft of paper making, developed it and adopted it widely in the Muslim world, which led to a major increase in the production of manuscript texts. In Egypt during the Fatimid era, the printing technique was adopted reproducing texts on paper strips by hand and supplying them in various copies to meet the demand.
Gutenberg adopted the basic design, thereby mechanizing the printing process. Printing, however, put a demand on the machine quite different from pressing. Gutenberg adapted the construction so that the pressing power exerted by the platen on the paper was now applied both evenly and with the required sudden elasticity. To speed up the printing process, he introduced a movable undertable with a plane surface on which the sheets could be swiftly changed.
The concept of movable type existed prior to 15th century Europe; sporadic evidence that the typographical principle, the idea of creating a text by reusing individual characters, was known and had been cropping up since the 12th century and possibly before (the oldest known application dating back as far as the Phaistos disc). The first movable type was invented by Chinese engineer Bi Sheng in the 11th century during the Song dynasty, and a book dating to 1193 recorded the first copper movable type.
This received limited use compared to woodblock printing. The technology spread outside China, as the oldest printed book using Type case was the Jikji, printed in Korea in 1377 during the Goryeo era. Other notable examples include the Prüfening inscription from Germany, letter tiles from England and Altarpiece of Pellegrino II in Italy.Germany: , , ; England: , ; Italy: , . Lipinsky surmises that this typographical technique was known in Constantinople from the 10th to the 12th century and that the Venice received it from there (p. 78). However, the various techniques employed (imprinting, punching and assembling individual letters) did not have the refinement and efficiency needed to become widely accepted. Tsuen-Hsuin and Needham, and Briggs and Burke suggest that the movable-type printing in China and Korea was rarely employed.Briggs, Asa and Burke, Peter (2002). A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet, Polity, Cambridge, pp. 15–23, 61–73.
Gutenberg greatly improved the process by treating typesetting and printing as two separate work steps. A goldsmith by profession, he created his type pieces from a lead-based alloy which suited printing purposes so well that it is still used today."Printing". Encyclopædia Britannica (2006). The mass production of metal letters was achieved by his key invention of a special hand mould, the matrix. The Latin alphabet proved to be an enormous advantage in the process because, in contrast to Logogram, it allowed the type-setter to represent any text with a theoretical minimum of only around two dozen different letters.; : "Gutenberg's invention took full advantage of the degree of abstraction in representing language forms that was offered by the alphabet and by the Western forms of script that were current in the fifteenth century."
Another factor conducive to printing arose from the book existing in the format of the codex, which had originated in the Roman Empire. Considered the most important advance in the history of the book prior to printing itself, the codex had completely replaced the ancient scroll at the onset of the Middle Ages (AD500).: "The most momentous development in the history of the book until the invention of printing was the replacement of the roll by the codex; this we may define as a collection of sheets of any material, folded double and fastened together at the back or spine, and usually protected by covers." (p. 1) The codex holds considerable practical advantages over the scroll format: it is more convenient to read (by turning pages), more compact, and less costly, and both recto and verso sides could be used for writing or printing, unlike the scroll.. Technically speaking, a scroll could be written on its back side, too, but the very few ancient specimens found indicate that this was never considered a viable option. (p. 46)
A fourth development was the early success of medieval papermakers at mechanizing paper manufacture. The introduction of water-powered , the first certain evidence of which dates to 1282, allowed for a massive expansion of production and replaced the laborious handcraft characteristic of both Chinese; ; and Muslim papermaking.; Papermaking centres began to multiply in the late 13th century in Italy, reducing the price of paper to one-sixth of parchment and then falling further. Papermaking centers reached Germany a century later.
Despite this it appears that the final breakthrough of paper depended just as much on the rapid spread of movable-type printing.; : "In the West, the only inhibiting expense in the production of writings for an increasingly literate market was the manual labor of the scribe himself. With his mechanization by movable-type printing in the 1440s, the manufacture of paper, until then relatively confined, began to spread very widely. The Paper Revolution of the thirteenth century thus entered a new era." Codices of parchment, which in terms of quality is superior to any other writing material,: "Despite all that has been said above, even the strongest supporters of papyrus would not deny that parchment of good quality is the finest writing material ever devised by man. It is immensely strong, remains flexible indefinitely under normal conditions, does not deteriorate with age, and possesses a smooth, even surface which is both pleasant to the eye and provides unlimited scope for the finest writing and illumination." still had a substantial share in Gutenberg's edition of the 42-line Bible.The ratio between paper and parchment copies is estimated at around 150 to 30 (). After much experimentation, Gutenberg managed to overcome the difficulties which traditional water-based inks caused by soaking the paper, and found the formula for an oil-based ink suitable for high-quality printing with metal type.
The text is inked using two Ink ball, pads mounted on handles. The balls were made of dog skin leather, because it has no pores,[4] RIND Survey (The Press Institute of India- Research Institute for Newspaper Development) June 2015, p14 and stuffed with sheep's wool and were inked. This ink was then applied to the text evenly. One damp piece of paper was then taken from a heap of paper and placed on the tympan. The paper was damp as this lets the type 'bite' into the paper better. Small pins hold the paper in place. The paper is now held between a frisket and tympan (two frames covered with paper or parchment).
These are folded down, so that the paper lies on the surface of the inked type. The bed is rolled under the platen, using a windlass mechanism. A small rotating handle called the 'rounce' is used to do this, and the impression is made with a screw that transmits pressure through the platen. To turn the screw the long handle attached to it is turned. This is known as the bar or 'Devil's Tail.' In a well-set-up press, the springiness of the paper, frisket, and tympan caused the bar to spring back and raise the platen, the windlass turned again to move the bed back to its original position, the tympan and frisket raised and opened, and the printed sheet removed. Such presses were always worked by hand. After around 1800, iron presses were developed, some of which could be operated by steam power.
The function of the printing press was described by William Skeen in 1872:
Having previously worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals he had learned as a craftsman. He was the first to make type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed books and proved to be much better suited for printing than all other known materials. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used what is considered one of his most ingenious inventions,Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. (pp 58–69) a special matrix enabling the quick and precise molding of new type blocks from a uniform template. His type case is estimated to have contained around 290 separate letter boxes, most of which were required for special characters, ligatures, punctuation marks, and so forth.
Gutenberg is also credited with the introduction of an oil-based ink which was more durable than the previously used water-based inks. As printing material he used both paper and vellum (high-quality parchment). In the Gutenberg Bible, Gutenberg made a trial of colour printing for a few of the page headings, present only in some copies. A later work, the Mainz Psalter of 1453, presumably designed by Gutenberg but published under the imprint of his successors Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer, had elaborate red and blue printed initials.
In Italy, a center of early printing, print shops had been established in 77 cities and towns by 1500. At the end of the following century, 151 locations in Italy had seen at one time printing activities, with a total of nearly three thousand printers known to be active. Despite this proliferation, printing centres soon emerged; thus, one third of the Italian printers published in Venice.;
By 1500, the printing presses in operation throughout Western Europe had already produced more than twenty million copies. In the following century, their output rose tenfold to an estimated 150 to 200 million copies.
European printing presses of around 1600 were capable of producing between 1,500 and 3,600 impressions per workday.: By comparison, Far Eastern printing, where the back of the paper was manually rubbed to the page,Needham 1965, p. 211: : ; : Encyclopædia Britannica 2006: "Printing": did not exceed an output of forty pages per day.Ch'on Hye-bong 1993, p. 12:
Of Erasmus's work, at least 750,000 copies were sold during his lifetime alone (1469–1536). In the early days of the Reformation, the revolutionary potential of bulk printing took princes and papacy alike by surprise. In the period from 1518 to 1524, the publication of books in Germany alone skyrocketed sevenfold; between 1518 and 1520, Martin Luther's tracts were distributed in 300,000 printed copies.
The rapidity of typographical text production, as well as the sharp fall in unit costs, led to the issuing of the first (see Relation) which opened up an entirely new field for conveying up-to-date information to the public.
Incunable are surviving pre-16th century print works which are collected by many of the libraries in Europe and North America.The British Library Incunabula Short Title Catalogue gives 29,777 separate editions (not copies) as of 8 January 2008, which however includes some print items from the 16th century (retrieved 11 March 2010). According to Bettina Wagner: "Das Second-Life der Wiegendrucke. Die Inkunabelsammlung der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek", in: Griebel, Rolf; Ceynowa, Klaus (eds.): "Information, Innovation, Inspiration. 450 Jahre Bayerische Staatsbibliothek", K G Saur, München 2008, , pp. 207–224 (207f.), the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue lists 28,107 editions published before 1501.
Because the printing process ensured that the same information fell on the same pages, page numbering, tables of contents, and indices became common, though they previously had not been unknown. The process of reading also changed, gradually moving over several centuries from oral readings to silent, private reading. Over the next 200 years, the wider availability of printed materials led to a dramatic rise in the adult literacy rate throughout Europe.Peck, Josh. "The State of Publishing: Literacy Rates." McSweeney's Internet Tendency. McSweeney, 5 July 2011. Web. 28 August 2014.
The printing press was an important step towards the democratization of knowledge. Within 50 or 60 years of the invention of the printing press, the entire Classics had been reprinted and widely promulgated throughout Europe (Eisenstein, 1969; 52). More people had access to knowledge both new and old, more people could discuss these works. Book production became more commercialised, and the first copyright laws were passed. On the other hand, the printing press was criticized for allowing the dissemination of information that may have been incorrect.
A second outgrowth of this popularization of knowledge was the decline of Latin as the language of most published works, to be replaced by the vernacular language of each area, increasing the variety of published works. The printed word also helped to unify and standardize the spelling and syntax of these vernaculars, in effect 'decreasing' their variability. This rise in importance of national languages as opposed to pan-European Latin is cited as one of the causes of the rise of nationalism in Europe.
A third consequence of popularization of printing was on the economy. The printing press was associated with higher levels of city growth. The publication of trade-related manuals and books teaching techniques like double-entry bookkeeping increased the reliability of trade and led to the decline of merchant guilds and the rise of individual traders.
Two ideas altered the design of the printing press radically: First, the use of steam power for running the machinery, and second the replacement of the printing flatbed with the rotary motion of cylinders. Both elements were for the first time successfully implemented by the German printer Friedrich Koenig in a series of press designs devised between 1802 and 1818. Having moved to London in 1804, Koenig soon met Thomas Bensley and secured financial support for his project in 1807. Patented in 1810, Koenig had designed a steam press "much like a hand press connected to a steam engine." In April 1811, the first production trial of this model occurred. He produced his machine with assistance from German engineer Andreas Friedrich Bauer.
In 1814, Koenig and Bauer sold two of their first models to The Times in London, capable of 1,100 impressions per hour. The first edition so printed was on 28 November 1814. They improved the early model so that it could print on both sides of a sheet at once. This began the long process of making available to a mass audience, which helped spread literacy. From the 1820s it changed the nature of book production, forcing a greater standardization in titles and other metadata. Their company Koenig & Bauer AG is still one of the world's largest manufacturers of printing presses today.
In the middle of the 19th century, there was a separate development of jobbing presses, small presses capable of printing small-format pieces such as , letterheads, business cards, and envelopes. Jobbing presses were capable of quick setup, with an average setup time for a small job was under 15 minutes, and quick production. Even on treadle-powered jobbing presses it was considered normal to get 1,000 impressions per hour iph with one pressman, with speeds of 1,500 iph often attained on simple envelope work. Job printing emerged as a reasonably cost-effective duplicating solution for commerce at this time.
| +Printing speed of press designs !Design !Year !Impressions per hour | ||
| Gutenberg-style | 240 | |
| Stanhope press | 480 | |
| Friedrich Koenig press | 1812 | 800 |
| 1813 | 1100 | |
| 1814 | 2000 | |
| 1818 | 2400 |
Printing presses:
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Technology of printing
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