History of Print: Part 3
Guest Post by: Noah
Part 3: Modern Printing
The last History of Print: Part 1 and 2 in the history of printing delved into the technological innovations that allowed printing to be mass produced. In this section, we will take a look at the printing technologies that were developed in the last 100 years.
The first such technology, inkjet printing was developed simultaneously in both the US and Japan in the 1950s. This type of printing eliminated the need for ink to be directly pressed onto paper. Instead, inkjet printing works by spraying ink through tiny jets onto paper. This technology allowed printing to become cost-efficient and compact, allowing printers to reach a much wider audience.
The next innovation in printing also happens to be one of the most recent. Digital printing was invented in the US in 1989. This type of printing works directly with digital files, allowing the ink that prints on the page to mirror the pixels on the screen.