The History of the Print Industry and Jobs in Print

One of the most important inventions in world history was the printing press. This led to the promotion of literacy, through the production of books, magazines, newspapers and other written material. Through the printing press, large numbers of books etc. could be printed in a short period of time. Basic early principles of printing had been modified and developed to meet the needs of folks in all the different eras to date. Over the years the types and different roles in jobs in print have varied with new technology being introduced.


Documented evidence of the earliest printing, describes how the ancient Chinese used wooden blocks to print flowers on silk in the 2nd century. In the 7th century the Chinese started to print on paper and that resulted in the printing of the first complete book, the Diamond Sutra.

The first movable type of printing system, which was another attempt made by the Koreans around 1230, made a major impact on the History of the Print Industry. In this type of printing they used movable pieces of metal. Around the year 1040, the Chinese also invented a movable printing system, but they used porcelain. Both of these moveable-printing systems were not widely used at the time, because of the very large character set of the Chinese. The quest was still on for perfecting the movable printing press, when various print masters from Europe made attempts to realise this perfection.

Johannes Gutenberg, a German from the town of Mainz, developed the European movable printing technology around 1439. He created an alloy made up of tin, lead and antinomy, which melted at a low temperature. This alloy was perfect for die-casting and it could endure in the printing press. What Gutenberg then did, was to carve out in mirror images, each letter individually, on a small block. He could now arrange the letters to form words and also use those letters over and over. This device of Gutenberg's was called the "Printing Press" and was a revolutionary invention, which was a giant leap in The History of the Print Industry.

In 1452, Gutenberg started with his well-known project, the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. Two hundred copies of the bible were printed, which he sold 3 years later at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
A dramatic increase in the number of print shops in Europe was the result of Gutenberg's printing press and due to the increased need for printed materials, there was a challenge to better the printing quality and speed. Earl Stanhope, from England, made another important contribution to the History of the Print Industry in 1800, by inventing a cast-iron printing press. This printing press resulted in a more vivid impression on printed material and it was much cleaner. Many inventions followed which included amongst others the bed-and-platen press, Columbian press, cylinder press, Bullock press and rotary press.

In today's day and age, computers and modern printing devices are capable of printing in one second what Gutenberg and his co-inventors printed in one year. With modern technology today, an exceptionally high quality of print finisher jobs can be done within hours and this is the expected norm of the day.

We need to be thankful to the early Chinese innovators and everyone who made a valuable contribution to the History of the Print Industry, as it developed into an industry which functions in excellence in this day and age.