Printing - the origin

the history of printing goes back a very long way, decades before the computer was main stream, when each and every letter had to be 'set' individually. recently i have come across a few great videos that look back at this wonderful process. showing how the type is made, set and printed. the product at the end is greater than any digital or modern litho printer could every produce today. the finished printed matter is a wonderful thing to handle, taking into account the many hours of hard work which goes to produce these works of great craft.

the first book to be every printed was the Bible, many years ago Guttenburg produced his press to be able to quickly produce the Bible so it could be read by many people throughout Europe and beyond. and today the world has been shaped by the printing press, from the newspaper, to the Christmas card and many things. even in the age of modern digital technologies, the traditional printing press will never die, for we all love to feel and touch, even some smell, the fresh book and pick it up to read.

here are some of the videos i found, which are great to have a look at:

FireFly Letterpress from ilovetypography.com


Printing—your life work series (1947) from ilovetypography.com