Print design

Last updated
Ad Poster Metropolitan 1902-01 Ad Poster.jpg
Ad Poster

Print design, a subset of graphic design, is a form of visual communication used to convey information to an audience through intentional aesthetic design printed on a tangible surface, designed to be printed on paper, as opposed to presented on a digital platform. A design can be considered print design if its final form was created through an imprint made by the impact of a stamp, seal, or dye on the surface of the paper. [1]

Contents

History

There are several methods used to create print design artworks, spanning more than five hundred years. Printing technologies available throughout history heavily influenced the style of designs created by graphic designers at the time of production, as different methods of creating print design offer varying features. [2] Before the emergence of the design and printing technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first century such as the inkjet printer, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign, print design relied on mechanical technologies such as movable type, the letterpress, and lithography.

Movable Type

Chinese alchemist Pi Sheng invented the concept of movable type, circa 1045 CE. He created induvial characters out of clay and lined them up, using a wax-like substance to keep them in place. They could then be pressed down to create an imprint, mimicking the effect of woodblock printing, which was the popular method at the time. Reusable, movable type was a revolutionary concept, however it did not gain traction in China because organizing the characters was not very compatible with the Chinese writing system. [3] This innovation came about more than 400 years prior to the "invention" of movable type with the printing press in Europe, and it is unlikely that Pi Sheng was of any influence to Gutenberg.

Letterpress

Letterpress from the earliest days of printing Letterpress from earliest days of printing (25794045595).jpg
Letterpress from the earliest days of printing
Metal and wood type blocks arranged for printing by letterpress 15020-Virgil Scott Letterpress Exhibit 4677 (16217955040).jpg
Metal and wood type blocks arranged for printing by letterpress

The letterpress, perfected in the mid fifteenth century by Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468) through the combined use of the printing press, oil-based inks, and cast metal type, remained the most common and efficient method of printing until the 1960s. [4] Used frequently with typography design and type layout, the letterpress operates through the stamping of type and photo-engraved metal blocks on paper. The metal blocks are arranged in a frame by the printer, and the text columns and etchings are separated by vertical or horizontal metal bars; it is even possible to arrange the blocks at an angle using a letterpress. [5] With the letterpress, print design and graphics remained black and white print on paper until the late nineteenth century. [2] The letterpress was the first technology that allowed for mass production and distribution of printed material at a large scale, and because of this, quickly replaced the slow processes of woodblock printing and hand copying of print design. [4] As time went on and technology progressed, the letterpress did as well. The Industrial Revolution brought about steam powered printing presses and Linotype machines, advancing the mechanical process of printing to a speed never seen before. [6]

Lithography

Lithographic stone artwork Klingenberg Lithostein.jpg
Lithographic stone artwork

Lithography, introduced at the end of the nineteenth century, allowed for the use of color in prints and allowed artists to print on larger surfaces than the letterpress. Additionally, lithography enabled artists to draw their own lettering on designs, which was not possible with the letterpress. [2] The design was drawn directly onto the stone by the artist, and then transferred onto the surface of the paper. [5]

Uses

Print design remains prevalent in society through all forms of communicative design. The importance of printed visual design was highlighted during the first world war, as posters helped to inform and instruct the audience. [2] A short list of print design's uses today includes:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Gutenberg</span> 15th-century German inventor and craftsman

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though movable type was already in use in East Asia, Gutenberg invented the printing press, which later spread across the world. His work led to an information revolution and the unprecedented mass-spread of literature throughout Europe. It also had a direct impact on the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, and humanist movements, as all of them have been described as "unthinkable" without Gutenberg's invention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithography</span> Printing technique

Lithography is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German author and actor Alois Senefelder and was initially used mostly for musical scores and maps. Lithography can be used to print text or images onto paper or other suitable material. A lithograph is something printed by lithography, but this term is only used for fine art prints and some other, mostly older, types of printed matter, not for those made by modern commercial lithography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printing press</span> Device for evenly printing ink onto a print medium

A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium, thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the cloth, paper, or other medium was brushed or rubbed repeatedly to achieve the transfer of ink and accelerated the process. Typically used for texts, the invention and global spread of the printing press was one of the most influential events in the second millennium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Typography</span> Art of arranging type

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), as well as adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning). The term typography is also applied to the style, arrangement, and appearance of the letters, numbers, and symbols created by the process. Type design is a closely related craft, sometimes considered part of typography; most typographers do not design typefaces, and some type designers do not consider themselves typographers. Typography also may be used as an ornamental and decorative device, unrelated to the communication of information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printmaking</span> Process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper

Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique, rather than a photographic reproduction of a visual artwork which would be printed using an electronic machine ; however, there is some cross-over between traditional and digital printmaking, including risograph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printing</span> Process for reproducing text and images

Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The earliest known form of printing evolved from ink rubbings made on paper or cloth from texts on stone tablets, used during the sixth century. Printing by pressing an inked image onto paper appeared later that century. Later developments in printing technology include the movable type invented by Bi Sheng around 1040 AD and the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. The technology of printing played a key role in the development of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movable type</span> Printing technology and system based on reconfigurable blocks of glyphs

Movable type is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document usually on the medium of paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stationery</span> Writing materials

Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand or by equipment such as computer printers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotary printing press</span> Printing method

A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Printing can be done on various substrates, including paper, cardboard, and plastic. Substrates can be sheet feed or unwound on a continuous roll through the press to be printed and further modified if required. Printing presses that use continuous rolls are sometimes referred to as "web presses".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offset printing</span> Printing technique

Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier. Ink rollers transfer ink to the image areas of the image carrier, while a water roller applies a water-based film to the non-image areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letterpress printing</span> Technique of relief printing using a printing press

Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable type into the "bed" or "chase" of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type, which creates an impression on the paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bi Sheng</span> Chinese inventor of moveable type (972–1051)

Bi Sheng was a Chinese artisan, engineer, and inventor of the world's first movable type technology, with printing being one of the Four Great Inventions. Bi Sheng's system was made of Chinese porcelain and was invented between 1039 and 1048 in the Song dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matrix (printing)</span> Mould used to cast letter blocks (sorts) used in printing

In the manufacture of metal type used in letterpress printing, a matrix is the mould used to cast a letter, known as a sort. Matrices for printing types were made of copper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodblock printing</span> Early printing technique using carved wooden blocks

Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is created by carving a wooden block to leave only some areas and lines at the original level; it is these that are inked and show in the print, in a relief printing process. Carving the blocks is skilled and laborious work, but a large number of impressions can then be printed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of printing in East Asia</span>

Printing in East Asia originated in China, evolving from ink rubbings made on paper or cloth from texts on stone tablets, used during the sixth century. A type of printing called mechanical woodblock printing on paper started in China during the 7th century in the Tang dynasty. The use of woodblock printing spread throughout East Asia, and the idea of printing perhaps spread to Europe and the Western World, where German publisher and inventor Johannes Gutenberg improved on the design with the introduction of the mechanical press in the mid-15th century. As recorded in 1088 by Shen Kuo in his Dream Pool Essays, the Chinese artisan Bi Sheng invented an early form of movable type using clay and wood pieces arranged and organized for written Chinese characters. The use of metal movable type was known in Korea by the 13th century during the Goryeo period. In Korea the first movable types date from 1239/1240. A further discovery was made in 2009, and here the types were dated to the year 1377.

Philip Baxter Meggs was an American graphic designer, professor, historian and author of books on graphic design. His book History of Graphic Design is a definitive, standard read for the study of graphic design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of printing</span>

The history of printing starts as early as 3000 BCE, when the proto-Elamite and Sumerian civilizations used cylinder seals to certify documents written in clay tablets. Other early forms include block seals, hammered coinage, pottery imprints, and cloth printing. Initially a method of printing patterns on cloth such as silk, woodblock printing for texts on paper originated in China by the 7th century during the Tang dynasty, leading to the spread of book production and woodblock printing in other parts of Asia such as Korea and Japan. The Chinese Buddhist Diamond Sutra, printed by woodblock on 11 May 868, is the earliest known printed book with a precise publishing date. Movable type was invented by Chinese artisan Bi Sheng in the 11th century during the Song dynasty, but it received limited use compared to woodblock printing. Nevertheless, the technology spread outside China, as the oldest printed book using metal movable type was the Jikji, printed in Korea in 1377 during the Goryeo era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of books</span> Overview of and topical guide to books

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to books:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood type</span> Movable type made out of wood

In letterpress printing, wood type is movable type made out of wood. First used in China for printing body text, wood type became popular during the nineteenth century for making large display typefaces for printing posters, because it was lighter and cheaper than large sizes of metal type.

References

  1. "print, n. and adj.2." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2016. Web. 30 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hollis, Richard. Graphic Design: A Concise History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1994. Print.
  3. Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis (2012). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 Eskilson, Stephen. Graphic Design: A New History. New Haven: Yale UP, 2007. Print.
  5. 1 2 Becker, Lutz, and Richard Hollis. Avant-Garde Graphics 1918-1934: From the Merrill C. Berman Collection. London: Hayward Gallery, 2004. Print.
  6. Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis (2012). Meggs’ History of Graphic Design (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)