Timeline of Printing

Block printing

Block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia both as a method of printing on textiles and later, under the influence of Buddhism, on paper. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to about 220, and from Egypt to the 4th century. Ukiyo-e is the best known type of Japanese woodblock art print. Most European uses of the technique on paper are covered by the art term woodcut, except for the block-books produced mainly in the fifteenth century.

· In China

The earliest woodblock printed fragments are from China. They consist of printed flowers in three colours on silk. They are generally assigned to the Han Dynasty so date before 220 BC. The earliest Egyptian printed cloth, in contrast, dates from a slightly later time, about the fourth century. The technology of printing on cloth in China was adapted to paper under the influence of Buddhism which mandated the circulation of standard translations over a wide area, as well as the production of multiple copies of key texts for religious reasons. The oldest wood-block printed book is the Diamond Sutra, translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in the fifth century.

· In India

In Buddhism, great merit is thought to accrue from copying and preserving texts, the fourth-century master, listing the copying of scripture as the first of ten essential religious practices. The importance of perpetuating texts is set out with special force in the larger SukhāvatīvyūhaSūtra which not only urges the devout to hear, learn, remember and study the text but to obtain a good copy and to preserve it. This ‘cult of the book’ led to techniques for reproducing texts in great numbers. This tradition was transmitted to China and Tibet with Buddhism. Printing text from woodblocks does not, however, seem to have been developed in India.

· In Europe

Block printing was long practised in Christian Europe as a method for printing on cloth, where it was common by 1300. Images printed on cloth for religious purposes could be quite large and elaborate, and when paper became relatively easily available, around 1400, the medium transferred very quickly to small woodcut religious images and playing cards printed on paper.

Movable type

Movable type is the system of printing and typography using movable pieces of metal type, made by casting from matrices struck by letter punches.

Around 1040, the first known movable type system was created in China by Bi Sheng out of porcelain. Metal movable type was first invented in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230). Neither movable type system was widely used, one reason being the enormous Chinese character set.

It is traditionally summarized that Johannes Gutenberg, of the German city of Mainz, developed European movable type printing technology around 1439 and in just over a decade, the European age of printing began. However, the details show a more complex evolutionary process spread over multiple locations.

Compared to woodblock printing, movable type page-setting was quicker and more durable. The metal type pieces were more durable and the lettering was more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type, and printing presses rapidly spread across Europe, leading up to the Renaissance, and later all around the world. Today, practically all movable type printing ultimately derives from Gutenberg's movable type printing, which is often regarded as the most important invention of the second millennium.

The invention of the printing press revolutionized communication and book production leading to the spread of knowledge. Rapidly, printing spread from Germany by emigrating German printers, but also by foreign apprentices returning home.

(The text is borrowed and modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_printing: as of 27 December 2011)

 

Task 6. Look through the text once again and explain the underlined words (You have 5 minutes for this task).

Task 7. Say whether the statements are true or false according to the text (You have 5 minutes for this task till 5 minutes brake).

1. The earliest woodblock printed fragments are from China.

2. The earliest Egyptian printed cloth, in contrast, dates from a slightly later time, about the fourth century.

3. The technology of printing on cloth in China was adapted to paper under the influence of Catholicism.

4. The oldest wood-block printed book is the Diamond Sutra.

5. In Buddhism, great merit is thought to accrue from copying and destroying texts.

6. Block printing was long practised in Christian Europe as a method for printing on cloth, where it was common by 1300.

7. It is traditionally summarized that Johannes Gutenberg, of the French city of Mainz, developed European movable type printing technology around 1439.

 

Task 8. Watch the video on the history of the book once to find out more about printing history. After watching the video for the first time answer the following questions (You have 5 minutes for this task):

· Is this story similar to the one you have read in the Task 4?

· What else have you got to know about book printing?

· Do you think it is the whole story of printing?

 

Task 9. Watch the video one more time and fill in the gaps with the words and phrases from the text (You have 10 minutes for this task).

1. About 10 thousand years ago in Samaria which is modern day Saudi Arabia the book begins its journey as a ________________.

2. They used __________________to write on the tablets and then maybe laid them out in a sand to harden them.

3. This better way came around 3500 B.C. in _____________.

4. The Egyptians had developed the more complex form of writing with pictures called “hieroglyphics”. They also invented a type of ___________ to write on.

5. This first form of paper was made from the tall rave that grew along a Nile river called a ______________.

6. Papyrus became a major industry for the Egyptians, and they begin to ______________it.

7. With this new business ____________ was their best customer.

8. The Greeks began to make scrolls out of the papyrus. This scrolls were light way and _______________.

9. The Greeks also invented a form of writing. It was an ___________ of 24 symbols called letters.

10. They wrote on thin wooden ___________ which they punch closely and then tight together.

Task 10. Answer the following questions (You have 5 minutes for this task):

1. When Roman Empire conquered Greece, did they also help the book progress?

2. How were wooden books called?

3. Describe the technique of writing on wooden books.

4. What were the wooden books replaced by?

5. Today codex is a technical term for any book made up of multiple pages bound together, isn’t it?

 

Task 11. Printing technology has been forging ahead rapidly and printing nowadays can be used not only for books and reading materials. Read the text below to find out about printing nowadays and different kinds of publishing (You have 15 minutes for this task).