Many years ago the discovery of a way to make paper by the Egyptians was the origination of paper as we know it today. This paper was called papyrus and it was made from the papyrus plant. This is a reed plant that was indigenous to the Mediterranean area. The stalks were used to make the paper that was then rolled onto scrolls which made it easier to carry. Up to this point, anything written down was on stone or clay tablets which made it virtually impossible to convey from place to place.
With this discovery the Egyptians were credited with the changes that now allow us to keep records. The use of what we know today as ink has been another trial and error method to find the right combination of materials. They had to stand up to the test of drying and staying on whatever surface on which it was used. The early printers used black ink which was the only color available and application by hand was the normal method used.
There have been many changes to printing over the years. The letter press used a raised type onto which ink was applied and then was pressed against a paper to obtain an image in reverse. As early as the 1400s the invention of movable type was credited to Johann Gutenberg. This is a type of printing that used movable parts to make duplicates of a document. The first actual known movable type was between 1041 and 1048 A.D. when Bi Sheng of China made a movable type from ceramic.
Metal movable type was first invented about 1230 in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty. This was followed by Jikii in 1377, which is the oldest movable metal print known to still exist.
In the 1430s in Germany, intaglio engraving was another method of printing which as invented. This method involved indenting an image into a surface, usually copper or zinc. The indentions were made by either engraving or etching into the material being used.
Gravure was the next to come along. Actually rotogravure is another type of intaglio printing which was done by engraving the image being printed onto a copper cylinder. Gravure printing uses a rotary printing press similar to offset and flexography printing. The printing is done on rolls of paper rather than sheets. These types of printers are quick and they can print almost anything from labels to linoleum flooring.
Flexography is another form of printing which is mainly used for boxes, banners, and labels. The print is made by making a mirrored image such as a 3D image on rubber or some other type of material similar. This printing process came along about 1873.
Offset printing, circa 1903, is one method that is used by transferring the image from a metal plate to a rubber material which is called a blanker. This is then transferred to a printing area. The offset method uses an image carrier where whatever is being printed gets its ink from the rollers and the non-printing areas pick up a fountain solution which keeps the parts that are not supposed to be printed free of ink.
With the advent of digital printing in the 1960s the ability to reproduce a digital image had come a long way from the origins of the past few thousand years. This process used computer an algorithms process to process digital images. This process had many more favorable factors and avoided the problems associated with processing digital prints such as noise and signal distortion.
Around 1976 the inkjet printer made its debut. This printer operated by impelling drops of ink of different sizes onto the paper. This is the most used type of printer for the general public. They are easy to use, are not expensive, and have a high output quality.
There are several types of printers today that have had their beginnings all the way back to the invention of papyrus paper. Had it not been for the technology that allowed the printed word, there would not be many historical facts known today. The method of writing down these events has been very beneficial to the world today. The major manufacturers of the popular inkjet printer today are Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, and Epson.