Printing - Phototypesetting, Typesetting, Technology

printing

Table of Contents

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)
  - Colour 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)
  - Colour 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

Discover how Johannes Gutenberg's printing press increased the literacy and education of people in Europe

See a working model of an early hand printing press

Friedrich Koenig's mechanical platen press

For Students

printing summary

Read Next

poem. A poet in a Heian period kimono writes Japanese poetry during the Kamo Kyokusui No En Ancient Festival at Jonan-gu shrine on April 29, 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. Festival of Kyokusui-no Utage orignated in 1,182, party Heian era (794-1192).

World Poetry Day

Discover

Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.

10 Important Dates in Pluto History

The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist

The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Person paying with a credit card using a credit card terminal. Cashless payment, credit card reader

What Is a Cashless Society and How Does It Work?

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

A second generation of phototypesetters consists of functional machines that are analogous neither in structure nor in operation to typesetters using lead. Outwardly they resemble metal chests comparable to office furniture. Their design aims at reducing mechanical parts, inertia, and friction to the minimum. Their technical characteristics vary according to model, use, and cost. The keyboard, which is hardly more complex than that of an ordinary typewriter, can be attached or separated; in the latter case, information regarding the text to be composed is inserted by perforated tape. Computer units can be integrated, either merely to direct the machine’s operations ...(100 of 26569 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.