This stub serves as a promise to myself that I will begin documenting the things I do, if only for my own memory and sanity. Things inspire me — I will write about them. Things annoy me — I will whine about them. Things consume me — I will photograph them. Above all else, I’m an artist, and it’s about damn time I start being responsible about it.

More to follow, I promise, self.

Man & The Print

Printmaking, or, ‘the craft of producing images by a variety of printing techniques’ (Lambert, 7) has been used by man as a means of expression since the dawn of his existence. Throughout the course of history the print itself has been utilized in a number of different ways and made by a an even greater number of processes. These processes, as history illustrates, were, and still continue to be tweaked and improved up by those who utilize them.  From the earliest woodblock prints of eighth century China, to the most modern digital printing methods of today, the path from archaic to modern has many important milestones placed by the influential printers of the day. Two outstanding figures whose contributions to printing are regarded by some as revolutionary were Johann Gutenberg (1390′s-1460′s) and Aloys Senefelder (1771-1834). Gutenberg, arguably the most well-known figure in printing history, invented the concept of moveable type in roughly 1450 (Steinberg, 5). Senefelder, some three centuries after Gutenberg, invented the process of lithography. Both Gutenberg and Senofelder were pioneers in their own right. Their contributions were felt by both printers and non-printers alike.

Printmaking, or, ‘the craft of producing images by a variety of printing techniques’ (Lambert, 7) has been used by man as a means of expression since the dawn of his existence. Throughout the course of history the print itself has been utilized in a number of different ways and made by a an even greater number of processes. These processes, as history illustrates, were, and still continue to be tweaked and improved up by those who utilize them.  From the earliest woodblock prints of eighth century China, to the most modern digital printing methods of today, the path from archaic to modern has many important milestones placed by the influential printers of the day. Two outstanding figures whose contributions to printing are regarded by some as revolutionary were Johann Gutenberg and Aloys Senefelder. Gutenberg, arguably the most well-known figure in printing history, invented the concept of moveable type in roughly 1450 (Steinberg, 5). Senefelder, some three centuries after Gutenberg, invented the process of lithography. Both Gutenberg and Senofelder were pioneers in their own right. Their contributions were felt by both printers and non-printers alike.

Moveable Type

The key to understanding the impact that Gutenberg’s discovery had on the world of printing, one must understand just what it was that Gutenberg improved upon. ‘The genius of Gutenberg’s invention was to split the text into its individual components, such as lower and upper case letters, punctuation marks, ligatures and abbreviations, drawing on the traditions of medieval scribes” (Burland, 1). Before Johann Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type, words or letters to be printed were hand made on the surface which they were to be printed from, making corrections tedious. These types of prints are described as ‘images that can be made directly by hand; that is, they are cut or otherwise produced on a printing surface, such as wood or metal, by the person who designed them’ (Twyman, 9). Johann Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type revolutionized the way words were printed, because for the first time, these pieces of type were interchangeable.

Gutenberg’s process offered ‘the possibility of editing and correcting  a text which was then (at least in theory) identical in every copy: in other words, mass production preceded by critical proof reading’ (Steinberg, 6). The process by which Gutenberg created these pieces of metal type are based mostly on evidence left behind by his surviving prints. Most likely, the matrices he utilized were right-reading letter-forms. These letter-forms were then struck into copper or another malleable metal thus creating a raised letter that was wrong reading. These ‘master’ letter-forms were know as ‘punches’ (Steinberg, 21). The tedious and intricate punches took immense amounts of time to create. In addition to the punches, Gutenberg is thought to have created a versatile type mold that allowed metal to be poured into the encasing chamber. This process would then yield a rectangular shank of lead with the letter-form on one side. This method, in addition to creating a way in which many copies of one letter could be created, also provided a solution to creating the different widths of the letters in the latin alphabet. 

After the needed letters had been created, Gutenberg used a device called a composing stick to arrange the letter-forms to make words and sentences. The letter-forms on the composing stick were then transfered to a metal frame, (known as a chase) to forms lines of set text. This setup, known as the ‘printing forme’ was then ready to be applied to the press for printing. The printing press is regarded by some scholars as the first industrial machine, ‘working on the principle of the assembly line’ (Topik, 1) 

Essentially, Gutenberg’s contribution to printing was the development of a process that allowed for information to be transcribed cheaply, quickly, and by the utilization of machinery. Gutenberg’s discovery, which is believed to be ‘one of the greatest of modern times’, (Topik, 1) played a huge role in the increased literacy rate of the time, and revolutionized the production of the printed word.  

Printing From Stone

Alios Senefelder  discovered Lithography—or as he called it, Steindruckerei, meaning ‘printing from stone’—in Munich, Germany in around 1798. Before lithography, the last completely revolutionary printing process to be discovered was intaglio, some three hundred years prior. Senefelder, a playwright and actor, was eager to find a cheaper way to print his plays.  Though lithography’s discovery was motivated by the economic privation of the time, it’s potential as an artistic medium was quickly realized. 

After countless experiments and trials, Senefelder found he could print directly from the flat surface of the stone—no etching, carving, or cutting nessecery. The new lithographic process was made possible by the chemical differences between grease and water, not the differences of the printing area and the non-printing area. (Twyman, 47) Lithographic chalk is used to mark up the stone (in Senefelder’s early trials—Limestone). This particular chalk is made of several different greasy agents: wax, tallow, soap, lamp black, and shellac. (Lambert, 30) The lamp black is used to the artist can see where he or she is marking up the stone, while the shellac strengthens the chalk so it can be made sharp and pointed. Once the drawing is completed it is sponged with a water soluble resin—to protect the stone from additional unwanted grease—and a small amount of acid—to allow the resin to soak into the surface. (Lambert, 30). The stone would then be placed on the press and wetted by a sponge. An an oily ink-pigment is applied to the stone with a roller covered in leather. The paper is then place over the stone and slowly rolled under the immense pressure of the yoke which is cranked by the printer. One particular benefit of printing from stone is the consistency with which it prints. ‘with careful printing there is almost no limit to the number of prints that can be taken’ (Hayter, 68). In essence, it is nearly impossible, even when the print is examined very closely, for one to differentiate the first run from the last run.

Lithography was said to be ‘The most significant new development in printing’, (Twyman, 47) and even though Senefelder’s intentions were simply to create a cheap way to print his work, he created a process which would ultimately be used by printers for well into the next two hundred years. 

Resounding Contributions

Johann Gutenberg and Alios Senefelder were both printing pioneers of their time. Both men were skilled craftsman and innovators on a quest to find a way to improve the printing process. Gutenberg’s printing process continued to be used, unchanged, for some three hundred and fifty years after it was invented. (Steinberg, 137) A variant of Senefelder’s lithographic process is still used by professional printers today. Be it movable type or a print from a stone, both mens contributions to the printing world continues to live on long after them. 

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Burland, John. “Gutenberg’s Invention.” Gutenberg. 12 Nov. 2007 <http://www.gutenberg.de>.

Anthony, Griffiths. Prints and Printmaking; an Introduction to the History and Techniques. 2nd ed. London: British Museum P, 1980. 7-160.

Hayter, S. W. About Prints. London: Oxford UP, 1962. 3-167.

Lambert, Susan. Printmaking. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. 6-47.

Steinberg, S. H. Five Hundred Years of Printing. London: The British Library & Oak Knoll P, 1955. 3-248.

Topik, Steven. “The Fine Print.” World Trade, 11 (1998.) EBSCOhost. Reading. 12 Nov. 2007. Keyword: Gutenberg Moveable type.

Twyman, Michael. The British Library Guide to Printing History and Techniques. London: The British Library, 1998. 8-82.