PRINTING, the art of producing im dressions from characters or figures on paper or any other substance. Printing from movable types was, according to Professor Douglas, probably practiced in China as early as the 12th or 13th cen tury, as there are Korean books printed from movable clay or wooden types in 1317. The great discovery was that Of forming every letter or character of the alphabet separately. The credit of in venting this simple yet marvelous art is contested by the Dutch and Germans. Printing was brought to England in 1476 or 1477 by William Caxton. The first printing press set up in America was introduced by the Viceroy of Mexico, Antonio de Mendoza, and the first book printed by it in the New World was "The Ladder de S. Juan Climaco" (1536). The earliest press in the British-Ameri can colonies was brought over for Har ard College in 1638. "Bay Psalm Book" (1640) was its first important work; but in 1639 it printed the "Freeman's Oath" and an almanac. In Philadelphia a press was set up in 1685, in New York in 1693.
The earliest improvement on the print ing press was made by the celebrated Earl Stanhope, who constructed a press of iron of sufficient size to print a whole surface of a sheet. A multitude of im provements speedily succeeded this press. Among those which gained a large share of approbation was the Columbian press, which was of American invention. This press was taken to Great Britain in 1818 by George Clymer of Philadelphia, and patented. The pressing-power in this instance was procured by a long bar or handle acting upon a combination of exceedingly powerful levers. Print ing is now executed by one or other of the varieties of cylinder presses, moved generally by electricity, or steam. Printing machines may be divided into two distinct classes—those for printing books, in which accurate register is re quired, and those for printing news papers, in which register is not sought for, and speed is of first consequence.
The printing business is divided into three departments—those concerned re spectively with jobbing or commercial work, with book work, and with news work. Jobbing work is chiefly done on
small platen machines invented by G. P. Gordon, about 1868. Larger work is done on machines having one or more cylinders. It has been found, since ma chines have been brought to their pres ent degree of perfection, that they give far superior results to those from presses —their impression is stronger, more solid, and more uniform, and the sheets can be laid on them with a precision un attainable with handpresses. Paper is not now made spongy and stretchable by being wetted, and the result of work ing it dry is that the type is brought up with greater brightness, and the delicate lines of engravings are printed finer, clearer, and cleaner. The colored sup plements of the pictorial journals are often admirable reproductions of works of high art. A single color press built in 1898 contained between 50,000 and 60,000 individual parts.
Books are generally printed in sheets of 16 pages, or multiples of 16 (32, 64, 128) ; in the latter case they are cut into sheets of 16 after being printed. Several very ingenious machines have been invented for setting type which have been successful. They are worked something, after the manner of typewrit ing machines. Several of the latest of these cast and set the type by one movement. This saves the labor of re distributing the types, as when done with they are melted again.
The latest achievement in printing machines is the combination color octilple rotary perfecting press. Four-roller dis tribution on the color portion insures fine work, and special oil-fountain ar rangements take care of the offset. The printing is done from both stereotype and electrotype plates. The combination half-tone and color pictorial electrotype perfecting press is designed especially for printing, from electrotype plates, high-grade periodical work, with half tone and color illustrations.