Printing is putting words and images on paper, most of the time using ink. Books and newspapers are made by printing.
Printing is one of the technologies which has changed the world. It is an efficient way to multiply writing, so that copies may be made available to all people. Printing is therefore the continuation of writing by mechanical means.
Writing originated after people had settled in permanent dwellings. It dates from 3,300BC, which is over 5000 years ago. A variety of writing systems were invented, long before paper was invented. Clay, papyrus, wood, slate and parchment (prepared animal skins) have all been used. The invention of paper by the Chinese was a step forward.
The earlist printing known was in 8th century China and Korea. Whole pages carved on flat wooden blocks were used. Covered with a carbon-based ink, they were pressed onto sheets of paper.
The second stage was to use separate characters by carving or casting. This was done in 11th century China and Korea. It failed to be really successful, because of the structure of the Chinese written language, shared at the time by Korea, which had thousands of characters. Because of this, the method was not significantly better that copying by scribes.
Printing was reinvented in 15th century Europe. Though slow to develop at first, print became the main means of communication between people who wished to record knowledge. It was hugely successful, largely because, with an alphabetic system of writing, print was much more economical than copying, and permitted many times as many copies to be available for readers. It was a revolution which helped all aspects of life in Europe, at a time when Europe was becoming the dominant region of the world.[6][7]
Along with a technology for printing words, there were various means for printing graphics. Carving on blocks of wood, engraving on copper were used up until about 1800. After that, a bewildering array of inventions arrived, including ways to print photographs.[8]
Machines to speed printing, cheaper paper, automatic stitching and binding all arrived in the 19th century during the industrial revolution. What had once been done by a few men by hand was now done by limited companies on huge machines. The result was much lower prices, and a much wider readership.
温馨提示：答案为网友推荐，仅供参考