Printing Press: Who Invented, Types, Applications

A printing press is a machine by which images and text are transferred from movable type to paper or other media by means of ink. Movable type and paper were both invented in China.

Goldsmith and inventor Johannes Gutenberg created a printing machine around 1440 and perfected it to make it useful for commercial purposes. This eventually started the printing revolution.

A printing press is a specific type of mechanical device that applies pressure to an inked surface placed upon a print medium, like cloth or paper, thereby transferring the ink.

The creation of a printing press marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods, in which the paper or cloth was rubbed repeatedly to get a transfer of ink.

The arrival of movable type printing introduced the era of mass communication and eventually altered the structure of society.

In the 19th century, the Gutenberg-style printing press was replaced by steam-powered rotary presses that allowed industrial printing.

Types Of Printing Press

There are mainly five types of printing presses, such as:

Screen printers.

Digital printers.

Offset printers or offset lithography.

Flexographic Printing machines.

Rotogravure Printing machines.

The Following Are Some Examples of Printing Presses

There are different examples of printing presses or printing procedures, such as:

Offset Printing:

In this type of printing, the linked image is transferred to a rubber blanket from a specific plate. From the blanket, it is then transferred onto the printing surface.

When utilized in unison with lithography, this type of printing uses a flat image carrier that usually obtains water and ink from the rollers.

Digital Printing:

This type of printing was introduced in 1991. In this type of printing technology, printers like inkjet printers or xerographic printers are used.

In the case of an inkjet printer, the content image is created by ink droplets. In contrast, xerographic printers include laser printers. In a xerographic printer, the image of the content is placed on a drum, and then the toner particles are transferred to a printing surface.

Flexographic Printer:

In this kind of printer, the printing plate is made up of rubber. The image of the content is transferred to the surface on which you need to print it. With this kind of printing press, printing can be done on cellophane, paper, plastic, and many more.

Gravure:

In this type of printing press, the content image is engraved on a printing cylinder. That cylinder is linked to the printing surface, such as paper.

Screen Printing:

In this kind of printing press, a certain screen has woven fabric in which specific areas have a non-permeable material coating. This kind of printing is used to print on textiles, papers, glasses, etc.

Applications of Printing Presses

The printing press is a very important tool as it helps us in many ways, such as:

Science: Printing presses helped in the advancement of science and technology a lot. Previously, copying lengthy formulas became a really tough task. However, after the invention of the printing press, scientists and scholars started to print their formulas in an organized way which eventually helped in the faster advance of science than before.

New Ways of Thinking: The invention and use of printing presses helped a lot in the faster growth and spread of new ideas and ways of thinking.

Newspaper: After the invention of the printing press, access to news and newspapers became very easy.

Increased Literacy: With the help of printing presses, many books were printed, spreading literacy to a great extent.

So, here we have provided some crucial facts related to a printing press than can benefit you.

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