Did you know that one of the Founding Fathers of the United States worked as a printer? Or that some of the very first print impressions were made by cave people thousands of years ago?
From ancient cave art to the founding of America, printing has a rich history.
Printing is at the heart of human culture, and for that reason, it is important and valuable for us to learn more about the history of printing and its effects on human civilization.
As experts on all things printing, our team at STPT has put together this brief history of printing and the printing industry so you can learn more about printing, the laser printer, and the ways printing has changed the course of human history forever.
After reading this article, you will know more about these topics:
• a definition of printing
• the history of printing
• how the printing press was invented
• the invention of the printer
• how the printer benefits us today
• history of the printing industry
• STPT: DFW and North Texas print history
What Is Printing?
Printing is the process by which text and image are reproduced using a template.
There are many kinds of printing, but the most basic type is stenciling, a process by which pigment is used with a design material to reproduce the design on another surface.
With the invention of the printing press, the most common type of printing became letterpress, which involves using typeface, a design material that features letters, symbols, or numbers. The typeface is covered in ink and pressed against paper to transfer the symbols to a new surface.
Then, in the 1900s, printing advanced again with the Offset press. This technology involves using plates and rubber blankets to create mirror images with ink. Offset lithography is still used to print things like newspapers and books.
Finally, the invention of the laser and inkjet printers in the latter half of the 20th century made printing more hi-tech and faster than ever, allowing printers to become commonplace in offices and homes.
When Did Humans Start Printing?
Before the dawn of the digital age, printing was the only way to quickly share information with written language or images.
In fact, some forms of printing have been around since the beginning of human history.
The very first print impressions were made using stencils. Ancient people would “print” images using handmade pigments onto surfaces like cave walls.
Google Arts & Culture calls this kind of rock art “the last mystery of humanity,” but other experts theorize that ancient people used cave art, including stenciled images of human hands and feet, to share complex thoughts and feelings.
The Printing Press: One of the Most Important Inventions In Human History
If you’re like most Americans, then you probably remember your 9th grade history teacher telling you the printing press was the most important invention in human history—and they were right!
Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press around 1450 in Germany. (Pictured above is a replica of the Gutenberg Press, courtesy of the International Printing Museum.)
The first big project completed with his movable-type printing press were copies of a Bible written in Latin.
Called the “Father of Printing,” Gutenberg revolutionized the world by using a flatbed press and printer’s ink to create the first working printing press in the Western world.
What Happened When the Printing Press Was Invented?
Gutenberg’s printing press is the rock upon which the modern educational system is based.
Before the invention of the printing press, it took years to copy texts out by hand and many people could not read. But the speed of the press inspired new reforms that allowed people from all classes of society the opportunity to read and learn from printed texts.
The invention of the printing press changed the world forever.
After its creation, people began to print news pamphlets. The pamphlets were read aloud in town centers, and for the first time in the history of human civilization, we were able to quickly report and share newsworthy events with people all over the world.
The speed of the printing press also made it possible for old texts, like the works of ancient Greek philosophers, to be re-printed and shared, which helped spread the important rediscoveries that drove the Renaissance and brought human society out of the dark ages.
After Gutenberg invented the printing press, the demand for printed material grew rapidly.
According to History.com, prior to the invention of the printing press, scribes would copy and print material by hand, and because so few people could read or write, scribing was a very valuable job.
The new need for printed materials, like books and newspapers, created an entirely new industry. The printing industry in turn helped fuel other industries, including bookselling.
Even one of the most important people in American history, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, was a printer’s apprentice before becoming an inventor and revolutionary!
How Was the Printer Invented?
In 1938, Chester Carlson invented the xerographic process.
Carlson invented a multi-step process that transferred an image from one surface to another using the laws of electrical charges. To put it simply, a negatively charged powder substance is attracted to the positive charge of the paper. Then, heat is used to fuse the powder to the paper.
The picture below is the first ever image printed using Carlson's xerography technique.
Carlson took his patented idea to the Haloid Company, a small Rochester, New York based company that made photo paper. This merging became the Xerox Corporation.
Xerox then released the first copier machine, the Xerox 914, in 1959.
(Check out the picture below, provided by the National Museum of American History, to see what the 914-model looked like.)
In their article about Carlson and the invention of xerography, Xerox explains that the process was originally used to copy images from one source to another.
But the first copier eventually led to the invention of the laser printer.
Pictured above (courtesy of History-Computer.com) is the is the very first laser printer: the Xerox 9700. It was invented by Gary Starkweather, a Xerox engineer.
Thanks to Starkweather’s work, laser printers were introduced to the workplace environment in the 1970s.
According to History-Computer.com, the laser printer was first introduced by Xerox, but IBM, Canon, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and many others quickly began to produce their own printers. Over time, laser printers have become more efficient, and the price has reduced as more printers have been developed.
Laser printers are a favorite of businesses and offices because they are dependable and produce high-quality prints.
Monochrome laser printers that print only in black-and-white became affordable for home-office use in the late 1990s, and today monochrome and color laser printers are quicker and easier to use than ever before.
Printing for Business: The Print Industry Today
Printing technology is always moving forward.
When Karla Metzler started Strategic Technology Partners of Texas in 1986, she sold Xerox 2830s (pictured below.)
Now, the Xerox printers we sell connect to WiFi, have touchscreen interfaces, and offer a variety of apps that are easy to use.
Xerox is one of—if not the most—well-known brands in printer history. From the beginning, Xerox has been innovating and improving the print process for commercial and home users.
As a Xerox Platinum Status Partner, STPT encourages that innovation, but these days, printers come in all shapes and sizes.
For example, one of the top Xerox printer models of 2023, the Xerox VersaLink C400, is great for office or home use, and it doesn’t take up much desktop space.
Look at how much smaller the Xerox VersaLink C400 is than the original Xerox 9700!
Printers & the Internet: How Are They Connected?
Although many people look at the print industry and the Internet as being incompatible subjects, the truth is that we wouldn’t have computers or the Internet if it weren’t for printers.
The printing press led to other inventions, like copiers and scanners.
In his article The Relationship Between the Printing Press & the Internet, writer Stephen Cooper explains that the computer’s core programming evolved from a mechanical loom that input programmable patterns into punch cards.
Early computers translated programs using punch cards in the 1960s.
The government then became interested in the idea of linking computers together, so they used programs similar to that of earlier machines, like the loom, to link different mechanical devices together.
And the Internet was born.
Without the invention of the printing press, the mechanical know-how that led to computers wouldn’t have evolved, and the Internet wouldn’t have been invented.
The history of the printing industry is all about information and the ability to access it.
First, the printing press brought us literacy, books, and newspapers—then the machinery used to create the press led to the creation of other machines, and we learned how to make an interconnected web of information accessible to people all over the world.
Printing In a Digital World
We use the Internet for almost everything these days: we Google questions instead of looking for answers in reference books, we type in Word or Google Docs instead of writing ideas in a notebook, and we even make digital to-do lists and file our taxes online without ever using a single sheet of printer paper.
But, even if paper is becoming obsolete, printers themselves are not. We use printers every day to complete a variety of digital tasks. We fax information to doctors’ offices and de-clutter our office space by scanning paper documents into PDFs.
If paper documentation is governmentally required in educational, medical, financial, and legal arenas—there will be a need to print. And long after the world has gone totally paperless, we will still need to make digital copies of old paper documents.
Multifunction printers allow users to print, scan, copy, and fax documents. Newer Xerox models even come with built-in app galleries and control centers that use A.I. technology to automatically redact sensitive information from documents, convert audio directly to text, and even scan handwritten texts to generate digital documents.
The Future of Printing: Personalization, Sublimation, and Going 3D
The future of the print industry is brighter than you may think.
A lot of people have bought into the myth that printing is going the way of the Dodo bird, (which, by the way, may not be extinct for much longer) but the print industry was built on innovation, and it is continuing to innovate.
There are three big print mediums on the up-and-up right now: personalization and packaging, sublimation printing, and 3D printing.
Have you ever received an Amazon box decorated with images of cartoon characters from a hit TV show? What about a box from your favorite subscription service with a logo embossed on the side?
That’s personalized packaging, and it is a favorite of big box companies. Brand is everything right now, and many companies want their own designs and logos printed on their boxes and packaging supplies, like tape.
Sublimation printing is also a subset of merchandising and branding. Sublimation transfers a design from paper to a piece of fabric by using pressure and heat.
Sublimation printing is used to personalize t-shirts, blankets, and other fabric merch.
What about 3D printing? Have you ever drawn a cartoon or sketched a blueprint for a tool and wished you could bring your art to life?
3D printing does exactly that. It allows you to construct a physical model based on a digital 3D image or design. This kind of printing requires specialized machines, but the end project creates a perfect model or physical prototype of a design.
3D printing is being used in a variety of industries, and it is even being used to make art.
The 3D art piece pictured below (courtesy of Sculpteo) was created for Milan Design Week by Zaha Hadid Architects using additive manufacturing technology.
3D printed models are also revolutionizing medical technology. Cochlear implants, models, braces, and other assistive devices (like the one pictured below, courtesy of 3Dprint.com) are being made with 3D printing technology every day.
The history of the print industry is long and complicated, but it is important for us to think about the ways print technology has changed our world for the better.
The world is ever changing, and so is the print industry. Yesterday, printing was cave art and newspapers. Today, it is 3D printed models and personalized merchandise for small businesses.
Who knows what exciting innovation will come next.
Looking for a Print Vendor with Good History?
For over 35 years, STPT has been helping people in North Texas and DFW navigate the printer industry.
We are dedicated to finding you the right printers and services to suit your business needs. With a collective total of over 200 years of experience, our team of experts are ready to make the printer buying process easier for you.
We have worked with some of our customers for over thirty years! If you are looking for a local print vendor with a history of great customer service, then reach out to us.
Whether you are looking for a new printer or just have questions about the print industry, STPT has the answers you are looking for.
