Week 9 ITAP - Essential Milestones in Graphics Production

The history of print and graphics production is littered with hundreds of developments.  From these, I will discuss 10 developments which are either considered important from a historical perspective or which have aided me personally in my work.

1. The Gutenberg Press.  In the mid 15th century, Johann Gutenberg developed the flat bed printing press which transferred ink from an inked surface to media such as paper and cloth.  He utilized his skills as a gold smith to engrave blocks of moveable type from a metal alloy which were much longer lasting than the clay or wooden blocks previously seen.  This allowed for the first mass production of print and effectively turned printing into a viable business.  In turn the mass production of printed articles led to the spread of ideas across the whole of Europe.
2. The Koening Press - At the height of the industrial revolution, it was the goal of innovators to remove human effort from as many manual processes as possible. So it was with printing.  Friederich Koening invented the first steam powered press which did not manpower to operate it.  The effect was to dramatically increase output and efficiency.
3. Rotary Printing Press -  Richard  Hoe was the first to conceive the idea of using a rotating cylinder to transfer print to paper.  This in conjunction with continuous feed of paper and steam power meant that output could easily in order of millions of copies per day.
4. Lithography - Invented by Aloys Senefelder in 1796, lithography is a method of transferring an image onto a smooth surface.  It was significantly different to previous printing methods as it is essentially a chemical process which depends on a hydrophobic, oil based ink adhering to the surface to create positive image and water to wash the negative image away.  The printing plate was also flat  which allowed for significantly longer print runs and did not require engraving as with previous methods.  High volumes lithography is still used today to produce posters, maps, books, newspaper and packaging.
5. The Home Computer - The home computer whether it is PC or Mac has changed our lives completely.  The has brought the ability to produce and print graphics to millions across the world and with support of various softwares, anyone can now print their work for any audience whatsoever.
6. Computer to Plate - Technology - This had the greatest effect on lithographic printing where the most expensive and onerous task was to produce the printing plates for the job which was similar to producing contact proofs in a photography darkroom.  The benefit is that the image on the computer can be output directly to a printing plate.  This dramatically improved print quality, losses caused by scratches in the film and significantly increased sharpness and detail.
7. Adobe Photoshop - This software has now become the " must know" software for almost any graphics/ photography producer.  It's abilities now appear endless.  One can simply adjust photos for minor errors to creating whole artworks from scratch.  
8. Ink Jet Printing - Bringing the task of printing high quality materials in the home or studio is now possible for everyone.  Huge advances have been made in ink jet printing which now allow visual communicators to output their work to a commercial, sellable quality.  Desktop inkjet printers such as my own Epson 2880 with its eight colour ink system can produce an immense colour gamut to make almost any print job possible.
9. Pigment Based Inkjet Inks - Until recently most inkjet printers were based on dye based colourants.  These were quite simple to make as the dyes were simply dissolved in solvent or water and filtered. However, the light fastness of these inks was unacceptable for the production of original artworks for commercial sale.  However, the improvement in pigment technology now means that ultrafine pigments can be produced which will not block inkjet nozzles.  Synthetic pigments which are now used now have such a high light fastness that most printed works can be guaranteed for up to 200 years in ambient light conditions.  This has now means that it is now affordable for most professional artists to output their own work avoiding expensive printing costs.
10. Ink Jet Papers and Canvases- As well as the ink, their is now a wide range of ink jet papers and canvases which now  support pigment based inks.  Whilst printer manufacturers offer their own brand papers, independent producers such as Hahnemuhle offer a  range of matt, gloss and semi gloss papers and canvases with a wide range of textures.  This in conjunction with the pigment based inks has been the backbone of the art reproduction industry.  Almost any reproduction you buy now has been produced in this way.