Ancient writing and printing materials

In the early days and ages several different materials were mostly used for writing and printing on: papyrus, parchment and paper.

Papyrus, from which we get the word “paper”, was a common writing material in ancient times. The pith of the papyrus plant, a reed which grows in the Mediterranean, was cut into long strips. These were placed in rows on a firm base, with the edges slightly overlapping, and covered with a second layer of strips laid at right angles to the first layer. The layers were then beaten with a wooden hammer until they formed a bonded surface.

Parchment was named after the city of Pergamum in Asia Minor. To make it, hair was removed from animal skin (usually goat, calf or sheep) which was then stretched taut on frame, scraped clean and dried.

Paper was first made in China in the second century B.C. and introduced to Europe via Arabia during the 12^th century. Paper was manufactured in a number of individual processes. First, fibrous plant materials (such as flax) and products made from rags, nets, ropes, sacks and the like were amassed by the rag collectors. These rags were then sorted and cut up at the paper mill. After being pretreated to loosen the fibres, the sodden rags were beaten or rubbed in water. They were mechanically broken down into the tiniest fibres in water-driven pulping mill. The resulting fibrous pulp, known as paper stock or stuff was poured into vats and strongly diluted with water. The vats, around one meter deep, were made of wood and lined with lead.

The scooper then scooped a thin layer of the pulp from the vat with his paper mould. The framed mould was then gently shaken so that the fibres matted together; this also caused much of the water to drain off. After the frame had been removed, the mould was passed on to the coucher. The coucher couched or pressed the mould with its wet sheet out onto a sheet of felt. A pile gradually amassed; the finished stack of 181 sheets of paper and 182 sheets of felt, staggered in alternate layers, was then squeezed in the spindle press. The layer (the 3d paper manufacture) then removed the sheets of paper from the felt, stacked them in a pile and again pressed them.

The individual sheets were then hung up in the drying room to dry. So that the dry paper could be written on, it was sized with animal glue. This sealed the surface evenly. The paper was then glazed, sorted, counted and folded if required. The final stage in the process was to pack the paper; 24 sheets of paper made up a quire, 20 quires a ream and 10 reams a bale.

 

Text 5

The age of the iron printing presses

 

Initially, 19^th century engineers tried to use manpower more effectively by improving materials. In 1780 Wilhelm Haas from Switzerland replaced the wood of the printing press with metal. In 1800 English engineer Walter was the first to construct a hand press made of cast iron. This new type of printing press, named after its initiator, Lord Charles Stanhope from England, allowed the flat platen of the printing press to be doubled in size. This meant that with relatively little force yet with significantly increased printing pressure larger formats could be printed with one single pull of the bar. The use of iron enabled more complex, more efficient lever systems to be built for printing presses, something not possible with wood.

The first printing machines were built not long after the invention of the iron hand press. In 1811 Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer, two engineers from Germany, had their steam-driven, automatic cylinder/flat-bed press patented in England, where the addition and application of the ink to-the flat printing plate had been completely mechanized. The press was first put in use in 1812. All that remained to be done manually was to lay the sheets of paper in the press.

CONTENTS

Unit ONE

TEXT: HISTORY OF PRINTING………………………………………………………….

 

Unit TWO

TEXT: CONVENTIONAL PREPRESS…………………………………………………….

TEXT: DIGITAL PREPRESS……………………………………………………………….

 

Unit THREE

TEXT: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OFFSET PRINTING…………………………………….

TEXT: OFFSET PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES……………………………………………

 

Unit FOUR

TEXT: GRAVURE PRINTING……………………………………………………………..

 

Unit FIVE

TEXT: LETTERPRESS………………………………………………………………………

TEXT: FLEXOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………….

 

Unit SIX

TEXT: SCREEN PRINTING…………………………………………………………………

 

Unit SEVEN

TEXT: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NON-IMPACT PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES………….

TEXT: NON-IMPACT PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES………………………………………

 

Unit EIGHT

TEXT: PRINT FINISHING PROCESSES…………………………………………………….

TEXT: BINDING………………………………………………………………………………

 

APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………………………….