A ultra brief history of printing in a few minutes: three Phases of Communications Evolution and the Shared Word

Hot Type

HEAVY METAL (1450s to Present) Physical, three-dimensional type usually made of metal. Served humankind from Gutenberg Bible to present through “Letterpress” printing. Evolved to mirror the Industrial Revolution… communications as heavy industry.

Cold Type

OFFICE-SPACES (1950s to Present) Photographic-based graphic arts — if you can see it, you can print it. Became popular after World War II. Uses “Offset Lithography,” still widely used today.

Digital ‘Type’

PERSONAL POWER (1990s to Present) Computer-based graphic arts evolved with personal computers around mid-1980s. If you can see image it on a computer screen you can print it or post it, . Used with “offset” and digital printing technologies and numerous other digital delivery networks. The Power of a Factory in a mobile phone.