The Newest Innovations in Printing Technology
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The computer printers of today are inexpensive and commonplace, and this technology is perceived by most people as being relatively new. In reality, printing dates back to ancient times, which most scientists estimate to be around 1800-1400 BC, and possibly even before then. So as you can see, printing technology has a rich history that has slowly evolved over thousands of years into the printers that we use today in our homes and workplaces.
Brief History of Printing
The earliest known example of ancient printing was the so-called Phaistos Disc, which was discovered in Crete, Greece back in 1908. Scientists believe that this 15cm disc is one of the first examples of printing from ancient times. Some people argue the fact that the Phaistos Disc was actually a type of printing plate, and thus the debate on whether it is the first example of printing is one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world.
Other early forms of printing consisted mainly of limestone or wood that was either carved to form a relief “stamp-like” printing plate, or grooves were cut into the wood or limestone material to create a printing plate. This type of printing is still used today in some societies, such as in some print shops in East Asia.
It wasn't until the 1400s that printing really started to become more of a way to quickly and easily mass-produce books, newspapers, and other literature. The invention of the printing press in 1439 by Johann Gutenberg would prove to be one of the greatest inventions of all time. The printing press revolutionized the world at that time, because people were now able to share information, maps, and news to other people much more efficiently than in the past, where everything was done by hand.
The printing industry evolved from that point on, but it was largely only a commercial industry until some of the first ever portable printers were invented in 1957. These new printers were called dye-sublimation printers, and they worked by heating a cellophane ribbon that was covered with colored dye, which in turn created a colored image on paper. This type of printer is still produced today, but it never became as popular as the laser or inkjet printers, mostly because of the fact that 95% of the dye is wasted with each print - each 3-color ribbon (cyan, magenta, yellow) could only be used to make one print. This wasn't very efficient.
Later, we began to see the laser printer, dot matrix printer, inkjet printer, and the revolutionary 3-D printer start to take shape. Let's take a look at some of these modern day printers and find out the differences between them. 3-D printing is also becoming increasingly popular, and I'll discuss the latest innovations in that field as well.
Next: Laser Printers >>
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