Woodblock printing was an early technique using carved wood blocks pressed onto cloth or paper. Letterpress printing was common from the 15th to 20th centuries using movable metal type. Lithography, invented in 1796, uses plates with ink-absorbent or repellent areas to print. Offset lithography, laser printing, and photocopying improved on these methods using technologies like LEDs and digital processes. Desktop publishing now allows individuals to design publications using software on personal computers.

1. History of Publishing
By Bruno Miguel Oliveira Amaro

2. Woodblock Printing
This very antique technique was used as a way
of printing patterns or letters in cloth or in paper. A
woodblock would be cut into a pattern relief and then be
pressed onto the surface in which we desire to print.

3. Letterpress
Letterpress printing was the most
common way of printing text from the 15th
century, when it was invented, all the way to
the second half of the 20th century.
This technique of relief printing uses
a printing press with inked movable types that
press against paper to create the desired
pattern.

4. Lithography/ Offset Lithography
This method of printing uses
either metal or stone. These plates
instead of being raised to type patterns,
the printing areas are made ink
absorbent while the rest is made ink
repellent.
Lithography was invented in
1796 by Alois Senefelder as a cheap way
of printing and publishing theatrical
work.
This technique was then
improved to offset lithography which
retains the same principles as normal
lithography. It’s one of the more
common ways of publishing since the
60’s.

5. Laser Printing and Photocopying
Laser Printing is a digital
printing process which consists of
LED technology to get small
particles of a toner onto paper to
create the requested pattern.
More economic than other
printing processes, this was
invented by a team at Xerox at
1969.
Photocopying uses the
same principles as Laser Printing.
Photocopiers were created by Xerox
and introduced in 1959.

6. Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing consists of
using a publishing software on a personal
desktop, with your set of page layout
skills. This technology allows for a wide
range of publishing materials.