Brief History of printing

Woodblock printing

• One of the oldest printing techniques is woodblock printing, it was discovered by ancient Chinese in the 13th century. The process consisted of craving a wooden block, and then applying ink onto it, later on the block would be stamped on to the surface and the letter or word would be produced.

Letterpress

• The process often now involves photopolymer plates that can translate a digital design into a raised plate for use with vintage presses, it was found in the 15th century. It has seen a revival of success in recent years in the fine art, craft, and design worlds and is often used to create wedding invitations and posters. However, it remains a very flexible and reliable printing method that can be used for almost anything.

Offset printing

• Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a water-based film, keeping the non-printing areas ink-free. The modern web process feeds a large reel of paper through a large press machine in several parts, typically for several metres, which then prints continuously as the paper is fed through.

Desktop publishing

• Desktop publishing software can generate layouts and produce typographic quality text and images comparable to traditional typography and printing.

Inkjet printing

• The process involves a printer which communicates digitally with a computer of some sort and physically sprays the ink onto the paper. It normally is used with 4 to 8 inks in a CMYK process and can produce richly saturated colours on a variety of materials.