A history of printing is important for any company that makes a living from printed materials. No matter what business you are in, a printed brochure or product can make or break it, especially in terms of marketing and advertising. With the advent of the internet, this need not be an overwhelming thing to undertake. Printing is always evolving and there are faster ways to print onto a range of different surfaces now. For more information on Screen Printing Equipment, visit a site like Mascoprint, a leading Screen Printing Equipment company.
Mankind has been using print for thousands of years, the earliest evidence of which is dated to 3,500BC when Sumerians used cylinder seals to mark documents with clay. A modern history of printing begins with the evolution of movable type printing. This was probably the first form of printing that was used to produce printed materials. Back then, a piece of paper was placed on a wooden block and ink was applied via a kind of primitive squeegee. From there, this evolved into different types of presses, such as the plate-and-block type of press, where plates would be pressed down on the wood blocks to form impressions in the paper.
However, with this new technology came a new problem: smudging. As the ink smudges onto the image, the text was no longer legible. To combat this, the printing company would put a little oil on the plate to keep it from rubbing off.
Another problem with traditional printing was the ink that was used. Printing companies historically bought large quantities of ink and sold it to the customers in smaller quantities. The printers would then load the ink onto wooden blocks, which were attached to the press with tiny screws. As more ink was used, the ink would seep between the wooden blocks and smear onto the page before being absorbed by the paper.
The printing press was created by William Caxton in 1476 and by the 1500’s, newspapers were being printed. Of course, not many people could read at this time so news continued to be spread through the use of town criers. Early in the history of printing, a new invention came about: the engraving press. This new invention allowed the printing company to print on both sides of the page at once, allowing for a larger print.
One of the most important inventions of the early printing presses was the press wheel, which allowed the press to rotate horizontally. This feature gave the printer the ability to create many different papers in a short period of time. It also made the process easier, because the paper did not have to be cut neatly from the same roll. In fact, different types of paper were usually cut on a machine just like they were ready to be printed, so that a single sheet could be produced as needed.