PRINTING INDIA

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“Neither political, constitutional, and economic events, nor sociological, philosophical and literary movements can be fully understood without taking into account the influence which the printing press has exerted upon them.” There are the words written by Steinberg in his book “Five Hundred Years of Printing?”

3500 BC

Papyrus in Egypt, Vellum in Asia

104 AD

Paper in China

610

Paper in Korea

700

Paper as raw material in Japan

900

Usage of paper in Baghdad Damascus, Tripoli’s, Cairo, Morocco, Spain and Italy

1150

First paper Mill in Spain

1390

Paper in Germany

1440-1540

Johannes Gutenberg started work on movable type, letterpress and ink for the same. Spread in a hundred years to different countries

1500

“Camera Obscura” by Leonardo da Vinci

1568

Lens for the camera

1799

First long-sieve machine by Louis Robert

1799

First long-sieve machine by Louis Robert

1805

First round sieve by Bramah

1843

First wood pulp by Gottfried Keller

1855

First cellulose by Watt and Burgiss

1727

Exposure Quality of Silver discovered

1796

Lithography by Alois Senefelder 19^th Century beginning: first platen machine by Friedrich Koenig

1814

29^th November, the “Times” from London was printed on Koenig Cylinder Machine (speed 1100 i.p.h.)

1817

Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer established Schnellpressenfabrik Koenig &Bauer in Oberzell near Wurzzburg in Germany

1822

Patent for a typesetting machine by Dr. William Church

1827

Photography by Louis Jaques Maude Daguerre

1833

Koenig died

1843

Fox Tolbot found out admixture of glue, gelatine and potassium trichromate was
exposed through light. Usage of black gauze or dust particles aided the transfer
of image. Thus was born GRAVURE

1847

Flatbed machine with four units, letterpress, was tried upon

1847

London Times printed with a cylindrical forme on an American machine(predecessor to rotary)

1850

Tascheotype typesetting machine by Christian Sorensen

1851

Web rotary with invention of roll paper

1852

Fox Tolbot used paper for emulsion

1866

London Times printed on a web rotary (speed: 12000 i.p.h.)

1869

Charles Kastenbein constructed a line-casting machine

1879

Heliogravure by Karl Kilc

1884-1886

Linotype by Ottmar Mergenthaler

1886

Ernst Abbe invented an error-free objective

1892

Algraphy (usage of Zinc and Aluminum) plates by Josef Scholz

1894

Photocomposing by single character exposure by Porzolt

1896

First project by Louis Lumiere.

1896

Gravure formes through photo mechanical process by Ernst Rolff and Dr. Edward Mertens

1898

Multi-character exposure photo composing by Friese Green

1899

Cross-Screen for heliography rotogravure by Rolff Theodor Reich and Klic developed copper cylinder preparation.

1903

Gravure perfecting machine for newspapers

1904-1905

Lumiere developed colour photography

1907

Offset printing by Rubel

1913

Intertype by Wilbus Stephen Schudder, another linotype ex-employee.

1924

First Photocomposing machine with matrices, also Linotype, London patented a
Film Matrix machine

1925

Edward Uher constructed a typical photo composing machine, fully developed but
could not be marketed due to complexity in working and high costs.

1929-1945

Various Photocomposing units developed by Hunter, Hubner, Westover and Elliot.

1949

First Lumitype in New York

1954

Linofilm by Linotype

1954

First machine coated paper by MD paper mills, Germany

1967

Improved variety of double-sided coating

1984

Desk Top Publishing

As the saying goes, rest is ‘history again. Electronics and Laser have changed the face of printing. We have come a long way from Gutenberg. But still we have a long way to go fighting for existence with electronic media. The hope is as expressed by many, both will complement each other.