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A Brief History of Printing

Printing has come along way in terms of technology! Let's take a look at some of the ways in which printing has evolved over the course of several centuries.

Printing was first thought of and developed in China The oldest known printed work by Chinese is a woodblock-printed Buddhist scripture of the Wu Zetian period (684-705 AD). Printing is considered to be one of the four greatest Chinese inventions!

Notable landmarks have been made in the wonders of printing technology; including: woodblock printing (year 200); movable type (1040); printing press (1454); etching (ca. 1500); mezzotint (1642); aquatint (1768); lithography (1796); chromolithography (1837); rotary press (1843; hectograph (1869); offset printing (1875); hot metal typesetting (1886); mimeograph (1890); screen printing (1907); spirit duplicator (1923); dye-sublimation (1957;) phototypesetting (1960s); dot matrix printer (1964); laser printing (1969); thermal printing (ca. 1972); inkjet printing (1976); 3D printing (1984), and digital press (1993).

Offset printing is where an image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then applied to the printing surface.The first offset printing press was invented in 1903 by Ira Washington Rubel, and William Nuthead founded the first printing business in St. Mary's City in 1685.

The Maryland Gazette was founded in 1727 and is the oldest, continuously published newspaper printed in the United States. Printing continues to be a popular amongst many US companies as can be seen by the amount of HP ce255a ink toner cartridges sold annually.


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10 Amazing Feats Conquered by 3D Printers!

The evolution of the process of printing has brought us to some amazing places! Let's take a look at ten of the most amazing things we can create now with 3D printers!

  1. Clothing
    3D clothing can be printed specifically for the person who will wear it, ensuring a completely perfect fit.

  2. Guitars
    Traditionally-made of wood since around the 12th century, guitars can now be made from plastic by 3D printers!

  3. Houses
    Including plumbing and electric, a full-sized house (2,320 sq. meters) can be 3D printed in less than 20 hours.

  4. Camera Lenses
    Some high-end 3D printers can already print glass objects, and eventually you'll be able to make a glass lens in your home that rivals commercial lense"”at just a fraction of the cost!

  5. Food
    Andras Forgacs, CEO of Modern Meadows, who became the first person to eat a piece of printed meat earlier this year.

  6. Prosthetics
    Instead of paying $10,000 for a mechanical prosthetic after losing 4 fingers in a carpentry accident, Richard Van As decided to build his own prosthetic at home using a 3D printer.

  7. Body Parts
    San Diego research company Organovo has successfully printed human liver tissue. The printed tissue is capable of performing all the functions required of a liver. This technology could save thousands of lives a year.

  8. Robots
    MIT and Harvard collaborated to make a robot that assembles itself thanks to "memory polymer" which fold themselves into the right shape once they've been printed.

  9. 3D Printers
    Called RepRap, the printer can print all of the pieces used to make it except for a few metal nuts and bolts. The replicated RepRap can then start making a child of its own.

  10. Art
    3D printing offers another medium for artistic expression the results are astonishing! The raw materials are less expensive than traditional art supplies, too.

If you're still printing in 2-D, make sure you have plenty of ce255a toner cartridges!