printing

Introduction
History of printing
- Origins in China
  - Invention of movable type (11th century)
  - Transmission of paper to Europe (12th century)
- The invention of printing
  - Xylography
  - Metallographic printing (1430?)
  - The invention of typography—Gutenberg (1450?)
  - The Gutenberg press
- Improvements after Gutenberg
  - The metal press (1795)
  - Stereotypy and stereography (late 18th century)
  - Koenig’s mechanical press (early 19th century)
  - Attempts to mechanize composition (mid-19th century)
  - Typecasting compositors (1880s)
- 19th-century innovations
  - Reproduction of illustrations
  - Lithography: Senefelder (1796)
  - Photosensitivity: Niepce (1820s)
  - Gravure and rotogravure (1890s)
- The 20th century
  - Discovery of offset (early 20th century)
  - Dry offset (1920)
  - color printing
  - Automation of composition (after 1929)
  - Programmed composition (1950s)
  - Photocomposition
    - First generation of phototypesetters: mechanical
    - Second generation of phototypesetters: functional
    - Third generation of phototypesetters: electronic
  - Toward direct impression
  - Serigraphy and collotype: a renaissance
  - Three-dimensional printing (1960s)
  - Office printing
Modern printing techniques
- Composition and typesetting
  - Mechanical composition and typesetting
    - Letterpress composition by hand
    - Semimechanized composition
    - Mechanical composition: slugcasting typesetters
    - Typesetter casting aligned characters
    - Automatic composition (perforated tape)
    - Programmed composition (prepared by computer)
    - Cold type
  - Phototypesetting
    - Manual phototypesetters
    - Automatic phototypesetting
    - Functional phototypesetters
    - Electronic phototypesetters
  - Makeup of letterpress copy
    - Mounting composition on film
    - Conversion systems
- Printing (press operation)
  - Color printing
  - Letterpress printing
    - Platen presses
    - Cylinder presses
    - Rotary presses
    - Preparing stereotypes and plates
    - Scope of letterpress
  - Rotogravure
    - Preparing rotogravure cylinders
    - Scope of rotogravure
  - Offset
    - Offset plate making
    - Scope of offset
  - Other printing processes
    - Letterset
    - Serigraphy (screen printing)
    - Collotype
    - Flexography
    - Electrostatic printing
  - Printing inks

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

A modern printing press that uses UV technology

Painting of a person with a headscarf reading a newspaper, with blue and white text overlaid reading: How the middle class learned to read.

See a working model of an early hand printing press

Friedrich Koenig's mechanical platen press

stop-cylinder printing machine

Johannes Gutenberg, wearing a fur-trimmed robe, examines his first printed proof sheet with two assistants in a workshop beside an early printing press.

Illustration of vintage printing press with bold text reading Gutenberg's printing press and a blue arrow pointing to the press, against a purple background.

At a Glance

book printing

printing summary

A modern printing press that uses UV technology — A modern printing press that uses UV technology The modern press applies UV light to freshly applied ink, leading to instant drying and durability.

printing

publishing

Written by

Robert Lechêne

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

printing, traditionally, a technique for applying under pressure a certain quantity of coloring agent onto a specified surface to form a body of text or an illustration. Certain modern processes for reproducing texts and illustrations, however, are no longer dependent on the mechanical concept of pressure or even on the material concept of coloring agent. Because these processes represent an important development that may ultimately replace the other processes, printing should probably now be defined...

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