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THE HISTORY OF PRINTING
Ask
many people Who invented printing? and the chances are they will
tell you, Johann Gutenberg. Gutenberg was a German printer in
the 1400s who is considered the father of modern printing. But
in reality what he did was take a number of different processes
and inventions, put them together and improve them. The elements
Gutenberg was able to put together were letters/symbols (characters),
paper, ink and tools (technology). Let us look at each of these
separately.
Letters/symbol
(characters)
You have to have something to print! The first system of written
symbols to represent words was developed by the ancient Phoenicians,
round about 1500 BC. Like most inventions, over time this system
was developed and changed and improved upon by the Greeks, Romans
and Anglo-Saxons, until it evolved into the modern Western alphabet.
Tools (Technology)
Printing depended on making raised surfaces to form letters/symbols,
inking them and then taking an impression on a sheet of paper.
The Chinese were already doing this as early as the 2nd century
AD, carving whole text blocks into stone. By the 6th century,
carved wooden blocks replaced the stone. But they still printed
whole blocks of text at one time, and could not be taken apart
when finished with and made up into something else. What was needed
was movable type, which could be assembled to print one particular
job, then taken apart and used again for something else. By 1041,
the Chinese were using movable type made from earthenware/ pottery
material. In the 14th century, type cast from bronze (which lasted
longer) was being used by the Koreans.
Paper
Of course, you need something to print on! The Chinese are
generally credited with the invention of paper. Ts ai Lun, in
about 105 AD, found a way of taking fibres from tree bark, old
rags and hemp waste, floating them in water, then allowing them
to settle before lifting them off and drying them into a sheet
of paper. Papermaking spread from there to Japan, the Middle East,
and finally to Europe sometime in the 12th century.
Ink
Once again, the Chinese are credited with inventing the special
inks needed for printing. As early as 400 AD, the Chinese were
using inks for printing wood blocks. Inks suitable for printing
were available to Johann Gutenberg. These were usually made by
combining a linseed oil varnish and black carbon.
Putting
it all together
Gutenberg began using type made of wood, which he fastened
together with wires through the base of each piece. But wood was
too soft, and was damaged too easily, so he made pieces of type
from lead. Once again, he found pure lead to be too soft, so he
mixed it with tin and antimony, which was just right. Finally,
he made moulds of brass so he could cast large quantities of type
at one time; this proved to be the key to modern printing. He
also made improvements to the inks, so that they spread better
over the type and transferred more easily to the paper.
The final invention
by Gutenberg, and some say the greatest, was the invention of
the printing press. No one can really tell what the first printing
press was like, but it was probably adapted from a wine or cheese
press. It would have had a heavy base or bed of wood or stone
and, above that, another flat surface (called a platen), which
could be moved up and down by a heavy wooden screw. The type was
clamped on the bed, and then inked with two wool-stuffed leather
balls. A sheet of damp paper was placed over the type, and then
a blanket spread over the paper. (The blanket helped soften the
pressure of the platen.) A lever was pulled, which turned the
screw and forced the platen down, pushing the paper onto the inked
type. The lever was released and the printed sheet of paper removed
to dry. While this may sound slow today, a printer could make
300 to 500 copies a day - an astounding speed for the time. Gutenberg
used his movable type and printing press to start his most famous
project - the Gutenberg Bible.
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