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A printing process or system corresponds to a mechanical way of reproducing a given graphic representation on a physical medium, repeatedly and continuously. Printing systems are varied and are distinguished by direct and indirect processes, as well as by the molds of their respective matrices. Direct and indirect processes refer to how the matrix contacts the substrate – whether directly or through an intermediate element. The molds of the matrices refer to the technique by which they are formed – whether by high relief (typography and flexography), low relief (rotogravure and pad printing), flat (lithography, offset and collotype) or permeographic (screen printing).
There are hundreds of discoveries and inventions associated with the history of world printing, from cuneiform writing, about 4000 years ago, to the present day. In this article, only those that have most revolutionized the printing landscape in general are addressed very briefly, and in relevant aspects such as: production volume, printing quality, variety of substrates, support for new processes, technical particularities and revolutionary concepts.
Woodcut, Woodblock or Xylography
China (618-906) – A printing technique originating in ancient China, highly developed in Europe for over five centuries (especially from the 15th century onwards), which uses high relief as a printing system. The matrix (mold) is carved from wood using tools called gouges, and the printing is done by transferring the ink applied to the raised surfaces to the substrate – similar to a stamping process. Woodcut quickly became very popular, not only due to the ease and simplicity of molding provided by the fibrous and low-density constitution of the wood (especially softwoods), but also due to the low cost and feasibility of obtaining this raw material. Woodcut also served as the basis for several other later printing techniques, either maintaining the use of wood (e.g., carving) or replacing it with other supports (e.g., linoleum and metal).
Typography or Letterpress
Germany (1438-1444) – An ancient method of high-relief printing derived from the invention of Johannes Gutenberg (German inventor and craftsman) in the 15th century, which revolutionized the printing of books and other publications, dominating the sector for over four centuries in Europe. It represents a significant evolution of the woodblock printing method, dividing the matrix block into movable type. However, the practice of movable type already existed in China and Korea since the 11th century (in wood, metal, and ceramic). Gutenberg’s innovation lay in his particular approach to the method, which introduced an adjustable system of metal type, adding a mechanical press that facilitated mass or large-scale printing.
Engraving and Carving – Intaglio/Etching
Germany (1430-1495) – In the context of printing, engraving and carving techniques are related, deriving from one another and originating during the Middle Ages. Both are produced by incising the matrix (mold) into favorable surfaces, establishing the printing process through the resulting low- or high-relief indentations. The difference between the two lies precisely in the degree of relief, with carving intended for low-relief – a level of superficial incision that, for this very reason, lends itself to both dry (intaglio) and chemical processes (etching). In this way, the ink in carving is transferred through the lower parts, while in engraving it is transferred through the higher parts. Both techniques inspired later mechanical printing processes, both in cylindrical and flat molds, and in both direct and indirect printing (letterpress, flexography, rotogravure, pad printing, offset lithography, and collotype).
Cylinder and Steam Typography
England (1790-1814) – Cylinder typography represents a mechanical evolution of traditional flat typography, replacing the press system with a cylinder. The optimization of performance was achieved through the introduction of steam, making the entire process much faster and more aesthetically versatile.
Rotary Typography
England (1843) – Rotary typography is an evolution of cylindrical typography, which adds the important detail of feeding paper from rolls, instead of the traditional sheet-by-sheet method, having a very significant impact on the speed and consequent volume of production, naturally associated with the printing of newspapers and periodicals.
Lithography, Offset and Linotype
Germany, England and USA (1796-1886) – Lithography is a flat printing process created in the late 18th century by the German Alois Senefelder, which uses the repellency between water and grease to fix the printing plate. Originally, lithography used an image painstakingly drawn on a smooth, well-leveled limestone (from the Greek lithos = stone), using an oily material (wax/grease/tosche). After the drawing phase, a solution of gum arabic and nitric acid was applied to the entire surface of the stone, generating an interesting chemical process in which the drawn parts adhere to the stone and the free parts repel grease and attract water. Offset printing is an improved and automated lithographic printing technique, also called offset lithography, which emerged in the 19th century. The process for paper substrates is credited to the American Ira Washington Rubel, who discovered it accidentally while working with a traditional lithographic machine. The term offset comes from the fact that it is an indirect printing process. While lithography represents a direct process (the substrate directly receives the image engraved on the stone/plate), in offset the system is indirect – the image engraved on the plate is transferred (offset) to a rubber surface (flat or cylindrical) which, in turn, prints that image onto the substrate. The linotype, often called the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” was a typesetting machine invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler, and significantly revolutionary in that it automated the typesetting process, which until then had been entirely manual. The term linotype derives from the expression “line of type,” which summarizes a process of casting in block, in line, of typographic characters, composed through a keyboard. This machine persisted until the 1970s, having been replaced by the photocomposition system that emerged in the late 1940s.
Screen Printing
England and USA (1907-1915) – A permeographic process inspired by the early permeography originating in medieval China, which reached a historical milestone, establishing the era of modern screen printing in the mid-20th century. The process is essentially simple, reproducing images on a surface using a screen by pressing ink onto it. The matrix area remains permeable, while the entire remaining area is waterproofed, making the overall appearance of the screen a negative of the image to be printed, constituting a permeographic stencil. The first modern phase of screen printing revolutionized printing in the United States and throughout Europe, especially during the aftermath of the World Wars, since the simplicity of the system allows printing on any material, of any shape and thickness, with any type of ink and opacity, in any quantity, from a single unit to thousands per hour. Screen printing is also the only printing technique capable of encompassing four distinct levels of practice – occupational, artistic, commercial, and industrial. On an artistic level, it becomes a timeless technique, with unique combinations of versatility and technical possibilities.
Xerography
USA (1938) – A term derived from the Greek words xeros and graphien (dry and writing, respectively), it refers to a printing system that does not use liquid ink in the process, but a dry pigment in combination with photoconductivity. A dry electrostatic printing process had already been invented by the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg in the 18th century, but the innovation created by the American physicist Chester Carlson combined photography with conductivity, making the system much simpler and more practical. Xerography forms the basis of photocopying, which later gave rise to laser/digital printing.
3D and Digital Printing
Japan, USA and Israel (1980-1993) – Although the origins of 3D printing predate digital printing, it became widely known later, since the objective of 3D printing goes beyond the concept of printing itself – in the sense of reproducing an image using pigment – leading to a completely different concept – in the sense of creating new physical objects. Following xerography, digital printing communicates directly between the substrate and a computer, without pre-printing work or preparation of matrices/molds. Within the concept of digital printing are laser printers and inkjet printers, which, although using different technical processes, fall into the digital category. Inkjet printing is a system inspired by airbrushing, and its modern technology emerged in the mid-20th century. The system projects tiny jets of ink onto the paper to print an image. Unlike any other printing technique (including laser), there is no matrix here, but a central circuit that decodes the image directly from the computer to the substrate. The laser process emerged based on the designs of the American Gary Starkweathe and was created in the second half of the 20th century. Following xerography, the laser system uses beams of light and electrical charges to engrave the matrix on a drum that transfers it to the paper. The ink applied is called toner, as it is a fine powder, mostly made of polyester (due to its electrostatic characteristics).
Dates and locations may vary depending on the sources.
