A Brief History of Printing

From Woodblocks to Wi-Fi

A recap of the Historic (haha), very first, episode of Hot Off The Press! Printing has a fascinating history that spans continents, cultures, and centuries—and understanding that journey makes what we do with our presses today even more meaningful.

So buckle up, friends—here’s a whirlwind tour through printing history.

Woodblock Printing: The Original Print Method

Printing as we know it got its start in ancient China. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), artisans carved words and images into wooden blocks, inked them up, and pressed them onto paper—voilà, mass production!

The earliest surviving example of this technique? A copy of the Diamond Sutra from 868 AD. During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), printing expanded to include literature and illustrations, even experimenting with two-color prints. These early blocks were carved from fruitwood (like date or pear), and because everything had to be carved in reverse, it was a meticulous process.

Movable Type: Swapping Pieces Instead of Carving Blocks

By the 11th century, Chinese inventor Bi Sheng created the first movable type using baked clay. It was groundbreaking, but also fragile. Korea followed with sturdier wooden and then cast-metal movable type in the 13th century. In 1250 AD, Korean civil minister Choe Yun-ui printed an entire Buddhist text using metal type, dramatically speeding up the process. Still, in East Asia, woodblock printing remained more cost-effective and widespread at the time.

Gutenberg's Printing Press: Europe Gets in the Game

Fast forward to 15th-century Germany: Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized printing around 1440 with his mechanical printing press. Drawing on the idea of movable type, Gutenberg’s innovation allowed for mass production of books using a hand press adapted from wine-making equipment. The Gutenberg Bible was a major milestone—and the Western world would never be the same. Knowledge spread faster, literacy rates rose, and the printing industry was born.

Etching: Acid Meets Art

In the early 1500s, artist Daniel Hopfer applied the technique of etching—originally used by armor and metalworkers—to printmaking. Instead of carving into a block, artists would coat a metal plate with wax, scratch away the design, and dip it in acid. The acid would "etch" the design into the plate. Ink would then be pushed into these etched grooves, and a press would transfer the inked design onto damp paper. This technique, known as intaglio, is the opposite of relief printing, like letterpress, where ink sits on raised surfaces.

Hot Metal Typesetting: Molten Magic

Fast-forward again to 1884: hot metal typesetting enters the scene. Machines like the Linotype cast entire lines of type (called “slugs”) using molten metal. Operators typed out the text using a keyboard, and the machine created ready-to-print lines in minutes—saving typesetters from placing letters one by one. It was a total game-changer for newspapers and books, making printed material even faster to produce.

Rotary Presses: Speed Meets Scale

The rotary press brought major efficiency to printing. Inventors like Friedrich Koenig (1814) and Richard March Hoe (1843) developed machines that used rotating cylinders instead of flatbeds, drastically increasing output. Hoe’s press could print up to 8,000 pages per hour, and by 1870, he built a version that printed both sides of the paper and even folded it. Newspapers were suddenly fast, cheap, and everywhere.

Offset Printing: Still Going Strong

Offset printing came next—still widely used today. This process transfers ink from a metal plate to a rubber blanket, and then onto paper. It produces crisp, vibrant images and works on all kinds of surfaces, from paper to cardboard to plastic. Web-fed offset presses can print over 80,000 sheets per hour, making them ideal for large-scale jobs like magazines and packaging.

Digital Age: Inkjet & Laser Printers

Finally, we arrive at the digital era. Inkjet printing was developed in the 1950s, popularized in the '70s and '80s by companies like HP, Canon, and Epson. These printers shoot tiny droplets of ink onto paper to create images. They're affordable and perfect for home use.

Laser printing, introduced in 1969, uses a laser beam and electrostatic charge to attract powdered ink (toner) to paper. The result? Fast, high-quality prints for offices and businesses alike.

Why It Matters to Letterpress

Each step in this timeline helped shape how we interact with the printed word today. And yet, despite all this technology, there’s something undeniably magical about printing the old-school way—with cast iron presses, hand-set type, and a lot of elbow grease.

Letterpress is slow. It's imperfect. It's tactile. And that’s why we love it.