Letterpress
from the Press to the Page
1473: England Joins the
Movement Late 1800s: Linotype and
the Newspaper Industry
William Caxton was the first Englishman to get his
name in the books of England’s printing press history.
After observing the growth of printing in Germany,
Caxton wasted little time in setting up shop in Bruges,
where he printed the first book in English. One of the first improvements to lithography came
in 1876. A young German man named Ottmar
Merganthaler was working in Baltimore when he
was asked to fix a machine intended to do both the
work of typewriting and lithography.
When he returned to Westminster, he continued
printing, putting out the first copy of Chaucer’s
“Canterbury Tales,” one of the most famous
works of English literature. His work is believed
to be one of the earliest attempts to standardize
the English language, and many of the works he
produced became popular to the upper classes of
English society. The machine had been invented by James O.
Clephane and although it never caught on in the
printing industry, the ideas helped Mergenthaler
improve the use of casting. The two worked on a
machine that would punch letters through papier-
mâché. Despite Mergenthaler’s suggestions that it
wouldn’t work, the pair kept at it. The machine was
abandoned after his concerns proved true.
Perhaps the oldest known form of letterpress printing
was that used by the Chinese. Early findings show
that wood printing likely began in the eighth century
as a way to record history, as well as share the
While Gutenberg’s original printing press changed
message of Buddhism.
very little over 350 years, one Englishman sought
During the letterpress printing process, calligraphers a way to improve the process. John Baskerville, a
printer, papermaker and typographer, printed items
would complete up to four proof readings for one
printed item. Inscriptions carved into a block could be for the University of Cambridge. Mergenthaler completed a machine in 1884 that
proved to be the first form of linotype – a system
that produced a single line of type in one motion.
This was known as a “line casting” machine.
Similar to a typewriter, someone would select
letters on a keyboard and a small band of paper
would be produced. The band fed into a machine
that decoded the message and would cast the type
using hot metal. If an error was made, the entire
line would have to be retyped and run through the
process all over again.
The attractive letters pressed onto
business cards, birthday greetings and
wedding invitations might seem like
everyday inscriptions, but these precious
words have a meaningful history. While
we keep these items as reminders of big
events or people we’ve met, keep in mind
that each letter was created with a great
deal of care.
By Twosides
AD 175: Chinese Woodblock
Printing
1706: The Style Alters
corrected with cutting small notches in the lettering
and shoving in new pieces of wood. If larger errors
needed correcting, the calligrapher would create an
inlay. When the block was finally perfected, it was
washed and fresh ink would be applied.
The style of his print was popular because he
developed a whiter, brighter paper that better
showcased the black ink. He also started using
wider page margins and implemented a lead before
each paragraph.
1440: Welcome the Modern
1798: Lithography Printing
Day Printing Press
Steals the Spotlight
Woodblock printing was commonly used from the
eighth to the fifteenth centuries, until a German man
named Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press
in the early 1440s. Gutenberg wanted to find a way to
supply books to the common person – a huge step in
print press history.
The Future of Letterpress
Printing
As technology continues to streamline the printing
industry, artistic print designs grow in demand.
Digital printing has even helped bring new life to
letterpress printing thanks to the first 3D letterpress
font produced in London.
7
Lucid Motif Graphic Industry
Lithography printing was invented by Alois
Senefelder as a way to improve the process. This
type of printing made it so that the entire page,
including the text and the white space, could be on a Known as the “second industrial revolution” in the
printing world, 3D-printing allows accuracy to rise
single printing plate.
One of his most impressive accomplishments was
to new levels. Typeface designers Scott Williams
Lithography also turned out to be more affordable
printing the Bible. Two volumes of the Bible had 1,282
and Henrik Kubel designed A2-Type Foundry and
because of cheaper paper. Also, because it was run
pages and required about three years for his staff of
use the advances of 3D printing to take the glory
by steam, the lithography printing process produced
20 people to complete. Gutenberg made about 200
days of letterpress printing into the future.
more pages than letterpress printing. With the
copies of the Bible during his lifetime. About 48 can
invention of lithography printing, printers started
still be viewed in museums.
using color. Within the next century, lithography
would become one of the largest forms of printing
advertisements and magazines.