Modern Printing as we know it involves the use of printing presses, and as such begun towards the end of the 15th century after Guthenberg invented the first operational printing press in 1452. At the time few people could read, but the Reformation, and later the Renaissance, contributed significantly to the development of printing and distribution of books, largely for religious purposes.

As early as 1500 there were 1000 printing shops in Europe, which had produced 35,000 titles and 20 million copies. Most of these were printed text in Latin, as the subject matter was largely for disseminating information about Christianity.

The Age of exploration also grew in tandem with the development of printing resulting in a vast new subject of interest, and particularly Mercator's early maps. In essence, communication had taken a great leap forward and it wasn't long before great works of antiquity, such as Greek tragedies, were reproduced. With the rise of education during the Renaissance, printed books soon became an important tool.

The introduction of lithographic printing was another leap forward for printing, invented by the German Aloys Senefelder in 1801 using plates with a raised surface for imprinting the ink. The method only later employed oil and water to ensure a clear distinction. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, mechanical processes such as printing vastly improved.

In the past century technological advances transferred the litho plate onto a drum for efficient, mass printing. This method remains largely intact to this day, though the waxing of the print surface and other developments has much refined the process. A major change has been the introduction of an off-set, where a rubber-covered cylinder is placed between the printing cylinder and the impression cylinder, essentially to speed up the process without compromising quality. Since then photosensitive polymers have been introduced to further enhance the inking step.

The past three decades has seen the rapid introduction of digital printing, and while circuitry and microchips were introduced earlier, the digital age has brought printing into the household and office through sophisticated technology. Starting out with simple dot-matrix printers, the process has seen the introduction of inkjet and laser technology, making high quality domestic and business printing a realistic option.

Photographic reproduction technology is now widely used for graphics and pictures, as demonstrated by the popular use of digital cameras. However, these processes are expensive for large scale, mass printing. Commercial printing companies continue to use sophisticated printing presses and machines that combine traditional mechanical methods with high-tech circuitry, and employ computer managements systems to streamline the process, particularly the pre-press preparation.

SR Print management has remained at the forefront of technological development and has access to cutting-edge technology to back up their up-to-date advice on printing.

Contact SR Print Management for further advice and a fast, online quote.

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