Ruthven printing press Schematic drawing for patent
The Ruthven printing press was invented and manufactured by John Ruthven of Edinburgh, Scotland, from 1819 to 1822. The Ruthven press was an iron bed press which functioned by means of an unconventional platen which rolled over a stationary table which held the type, where the pressure on the type faces was exerted from below, instead of in the conventional method where pressure was applied from above. The platen is supported by two iron springs, under which are four brass bevelled wheels which move along on two tracks made of bevelled steel. After the impression is made the springs give way, and consequently rise up. The press overall incorporated a number of other rather complex mechanical components, the details of which are beyond the scope of this article. The press was smaller in size than most presses of this period, easier to use, and subsequently it quickly established a favorable reputation for itself among English printers.[1][2][3]
The Ruthven printing press was put to use printing and establishing a number of newspapers in its day. The first newspaper in Western Australia, The Fremantle Observer, Perth Gazette and Journal, issued April 5, 1831, was printed on the Ruthven press. As commercial printing ink was not available in Fremantle, an alternative ink was concocted by mixing lamp black soot and mutton fat, and the rollers were treated with a glue and treacle. The press was capable of printing 50 pages of newsprint in about one hour.[4] Thereafter the press was purchased by another group of partners who put it to use print The Western Australian and The Inquisitor, but they never lasted due to political and social differences in publishing between some of the partners. Thereafter the press was taken to Perth where it was employed in the printing of the Swan River Guardian, however, it was repossessed for non-payment. The next owner, E. Stirling, employed it briefly for printing The Western Australian Magazine. Originally manufactured in Scotland, it was brought to Tasmania around 1822 by the Scottish missionary Reverend Archibald Macarthur, who sold it to the colonial authorities in Hobart Town, but it proved to be not large enough for the task they had intended and they subsequently sold the press to a former government printer, who in turn probably sold it to Samuel Dowsett, who printed Launceston's second newspaper, the Cornwall Press, in 1829.[4]
See also
Adam Ramage, printing press manufacturer in the early 1800s
George E. Clymer, printing press manufacturer in the early 1800s
In computing, a printer is a peripheral machine which makes a durable representation of graphics or text, usually on paper. While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers. Different types of printers include 3D printers, inkjet printers, laser printers, and thermal printers.
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses.
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.
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.
Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpensive consumer models to expensive professional machines. By 2019, laser printers outsold inkjet printers by nearly a 2:1 ratio, 9.6% vs 5.1% of all computer peripherals.
George E. Clymer, printing press inventor and manufacturer, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was an American engineer and all around inventor. Clymer, in his earlier vocational years, was something of a civil engineer and as an inventor became noted for his improvements and developments in early nineteenth century printing presses, and ultimately developed his own distinctive printing press, which soon became widely known as the Columbian Printing Press, which were often favorably received by printers in America, England and parts of Europe. After relocating to England because of better market conditions, Clymer subsequently became one of the principal developers and suppliers of printing presses in Europe in the early nineteenth century. The innovative designs he incorporated into his printing presses were put to use in the manufacturing of other printing presses years after his death.
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.
A platen is a platform with a variety of roles in printing or manufacturing. It can be a flat metal plate pressed against a medium to cause an impression in letterpress printing. Platen may also refer to a typewriter roller which friction-feeds paper into position below the typebars or print head. It can refer to the glass surface of a copier, and the rotating disk used to polish semiconductor wafers.
Wide format printers are generally accepted to be any computer-controlled printing machines (printers) that support a maximum print roll width of between 18 and 100 inches. Printers with capacities over 100 in wide are considered super-wide or grand format. Wide-format printers are used to print banners, posters, trade show graphics, wallpaper, murals, backlit film (duratrans), vehicle image wraps, electronic circuit schematics, architectural drawings, construction plans, backdrops for theatrical and media sets, and any other large format artwork or signage. Wide-format printers usually employ some variant of inkjet or toner-based technology to produce the printed image; and are more economical than other print methods such as screen printing for most short-run print projects, depending on print size, run length, and the type of substrate or print medium. Wide-format printers are usually designed for printing onto a roll of print media that feeds incrementally during the print process, rather than onto individual sheets.
In printing, a stereotype, stereoplate or simply a stereo, is a solid plate of type metal, cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type. The mould was known as a flong.
Robert Smail's Printing Works is a fully functional Victorian era letterpress printing works in the small Scottish Borders town of Innerleithen, now preserved by The National Trust for Scotland as an Industrial Heritage museum showing visitors the operation of a local printer around 1900 while still carrying out orders for printing and stationery.
The Columbian press is a type of hand-operated printing press invented in the United States by George Clymer, around 1813. Made from cast iron, it was a very successful design and many thousands were made by him and by others during the 19th century. Columbians continued to be made as late as the early-20th century, 90 years after their introduction. Despite their age, many are still used for printing, especially by artists who make prints using traditional methods.
Charles Macfaull was an early settler in the Swan River Colony in Western Australia. He arrived in 1830, and is credited with having planted the colony's first vineyard, using vines brought from the Cape of Good Hope. He worked as the colony's postmaster, and in 1833 established its first successful newspaper, the Perth Gazette and Western Australian Times, which survives today as The West Australian. The original printing press, a tiny Ruthven press that was used to prepare the first paper, is currently housed in the Western Australian Museum.
The Fremantle Journal and General Advertiser was the first newspaper published in Western Australia. It was edited and published by James A. Gardner, with the first issues appearing less than a year after the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829. As there was not yet a printing press in the colony, each issue was handwritten.
Adana Printing Machines were manufactured from 1922 to 1999 in Twickenham, England. Although most of the printing presses produced by Adana were aimed at hobby printers, they were frequently put to commercial use. Adanas are still to be found throughout the world in the hands of colleges, enthusiasts and professional printers. Caslon Limited manufactured machines after a takeover of the company in 1987.
R. Hoe & Company was a New York City-based printing press manufacturer established by Peter Smith, Matthew Smith, and their brother-in-law, English emigrant Robert Hoe (1784–1833), in 1805 as Smith, Hoe & Company.
The Sholes and Glidden typewriter was the first commercially successful typewriter. Principally designed by the American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes, it was developed with the assistance of fellow printer Samuel W. Soule and amateur mechanic Carlos S. Glidden. Work began in 1867, but Soule left the enterprise shortly thereafter, replaced by James Densmore, who provided financial backing and the driving force behind the machine's continued development. After several short-lived attempts to manufacture the device, the machine was acquired by E. Remington and Sons in early 1873. An arms manufacturer seeking to diversify, Remington further refined the typewriter before finally placing it on the market on July 1, 1874.
Golding & Company was an American manufacturer of platen printing presses and printers' tools, established in 1869 by William Hughson Golding (1845–1916) in the Fort Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts.
William Nairne Clark (1804–1854) was a public notary and publisher, active at the Swan River Colony and Tasmanian settlements founded in Australia.
Adam Ramage was an American printing press manufacturer and the originator of Ramage printing press, a "one-pull" printing press. He is noted for being one of the most important printing press makers and innovators of his day, and the primary press-builder in the United States during the beginning of the 19th century. Ramage was one of the first press makers to incorporate an iron printing bed into the apparatus. The advent of printing was the primary way information was passed on from town to town, colony to colony, state to state, and functioned as a news network during its early years.
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