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Desktop Publishing Specialists

History

When Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in the 1440s, it was a major technological advancement. Up until that point, books were produced entirely by monks, every word written by hand on vellum. Though print shops flourished all across Europe with this invention, inspiring the production of millions of books by the 1500s, there was little major change in the technology of printing until the 1800s. By then, cylinder presses were churning out thousands of sheets per hour, and the Linotype machine allowed for easier, more efficient plate-making. Offset lithography (a method of applying ink from a treated surface onto paper) followed and gained popularity after World War II. Phototypesetting was later developed, involving creating film images of text and pictures to be printed. At the end of the 20th century, computers caused another revolution in the industry. Laser printers now allow for low-cost, high-quality printing, and desktop publishing software is credited with spurring sales and use of personal home computers.

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