PRINTING PRESS
TECHNOLOGY, HISTORY AND CONTRIBUTION:-
In the history of human civilization, after the discovery of fire, the discovery of iron, the inventions of the wheel, etc., the most important and revolutionary invention was that of the printing press. In the era of Bhojpatras, 'Vidya' had been transformed into 'Gyan', but it was still under the prerogative of caste-varna. The printing press challenged the colonization of a few people on knowledge for the first time. For the first time, he came out of the court-khas and established himself in the court-mango. In this sense it was an epoch-making turning point, ending the greatest hegemony in history and creating the blue-print of a new era. Without the printing press, all the undertakings of modernity and renaissance cannot be imagined. If you look closely at the printing technology, it will be clear to understand its true character, its power and its impact. In common parlance, a printing press is a technique that engraves ink-dyed letters printed on a metallic surface (blocks) onto a medium of printing (paper or cloth). Since this process of engraving letters was done by pressing the surface, hence it was called press. In this sense, it becomes a technique of transfer of ink from one medium (blocks) to another medium (paper/cloth). If seen carefully, by so much it presents a historical change in the traditional system of handwriting. Note that earlier the texts were copied, their copies were prepared. Barring exceptions, this work was done in a missionary manner at the initiative of meritorious state shelters, monasteries and large educational centers like Taxila-Nalanda. This required a katib (book copyist), who produced one copy of the book at a time. There were special qualities possessed by the kateeb, who intervened in language and grammar and were skilled in calligraphy. After the invention of the printing press, there was no need for these playfuls. Now even an illiterate laborer could do the printing work of Kalidasa's texts accurately, without any human error (which was the scope before this).
In addition, the biggest deliverable of the printing press was to provide a qualitative increase in the productivity of the printing work. Say, the printing press turned printing into a product. This was a revolutionary change. Earlier the task of book making was as difficult and painstaking as it is now. Pluralism came in the act of copy-making of books. A new network was created for the dissemination of the book. The printing press transformed printing from enterprise to industry. Now the value of the book is being judged. In the past, the content of a book was a substitute for its value, and rarity played a decisive role in its pricing. This is the concept behind the myth of Saraswati Ka Vaas Wale in the book. The book was considered to be revered. Even today, the traditional thinkers bow down to their feet when they touch the book. In fact, it is a tribute to the rare knowledge accumulated in the book and the tireless labor involved in its creation, which was created in the era before the existence of the printing press. Now under this new production process, after the elimination of effective elements such as rarity, the physical goods (paper, ink, cardboard, cloth and other things) and labor involved in book making began to decide the cost of the book. Books were introduced in the market as a product. She was no longer priceless, discounts were being given on her.
If seen in history, the credit for the invention of the modern printing-press goes to Johannes Gutenberg of Germany (15th century). But instead of calling it an invention, it would be better if it is called a rediscovery. In fact, an ancient form of this technique existed in 3rd century China, and then during the reign of the Tang dynasty of China (6th to 10th centuries) when wooden letters were printed on cloth in pictorial script. This work of printing was done at the level of the enterprise itself, that is, printing was done, there was no press. Gutenberg turned this single enterprise into a collective industry. He prepared the printing machine, where the work of printing started on a large scale. But the beginning of printing work is considered to be from China itself. Evidence of printing on wood (later metals) blocks and bricks and paper from it is found there. Gum, wax and ashes of trees were used for ink. This archaic form of the printing press was a major contributor to the widespread propagation of Buddhism.
By the fourteenth century, movable typesetters were also used in China, Japan and Korea. After the invention of Gutenberg, the rapid changes in the field of printing in Europe, this technology did not spread in China as fast because the Chinese had been pictorial. In Europe also, initially only wooden blocks were used, which was known as xylography. Later, Gutenberg added such a method, under which paper rolling tables were manufactured and the printing work increased qualitatively. Of the total two hundred copies of the 'Gutenberg Bible' printed in this press, twenty-two copies are still stored today. This gives an idea of the type-case of that time, the texture of Thatu's blocks, etc. Within a decade after Gutenberg's invention, this technology spread at lightning speed. By 1480, about 110 printing presses had been established in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium and Bohemia. This practice of printing created communities such as writers and readers. The author (Author) and the text (Text) were born. Suddenly it became important that who wrote, what was written and where. Before the printing press, the texts were left, the author was often buried in the darkness of disappearance. Now references have been made. You will find different texts of what Kabir said, Tulsi is also full of interjections here. Now there is uniformity in the text, the scope for interpolation is gone. Respect was created among the people towards the printed. What was written more than what was said came to be considered credible. Even today it is commonly heard - 'Where is it written that this will happen' or 'I give you in writing that it will happen'.
After the existence of the printing press, our reading habit also underwent a radical change. Earlier teaching-learning was at the oral level. Oralism instills verbosity in us and verbosity is the mother of drama. That is why plays are predominant in Sanskrit. Now the process of lessons started at the private level. Preference was also given to comfy phrases and delicate syntax. There is also a contribution of printing press in the creation of democratic form of knowledge. Any invention not only changes the appearance of the future, but it also changes the past. The printing press revived the earlier literature. The endangered texts were revived on a large scale. It was a renewal of antiquity. In addition, the restricted area of the ancient knowledge-wealth to the general public now became public. Due to this the possibility of manipulation of knowledge progressively ended. Along with the growth of prose after the Industrial Revolution, de-valuation of books was beneficial to the common people. Books were no longer a 'luxury' limited to a specific number of people, they reached the reach of people walking along the way. Knowledge grew in popularity. The use of vernacular languages increased in place of ancient languages like Latin, Greek, Sanskrit etc.
The contribution of printing press in the field of standardization of spelling can easily be underlined. This prestige of the native language strengthened the feeling of nationalism. Printing made the far-reaching journeys of knowledge and science accessible. Along with literature a standardized form of content from other branches of knowledge emerged.Through magazines, people became more enlightened and enlightened than before. The contribution of newspapers and magazines to the national movements of India along with other countries cannot be forgotten. With the changing times, there has been a qualitative change in the nature of the printing press. The introduction of electric power, then the addition of computer technology and finally the offset printing process has revolutionized the productive capacity of the press. On-Demand Printing is a state-of-the-art version of this, where the desired control can be achieved in bulk printing orders with little difference in cost. It can be said with certainty that the printing-press has played a revolutionary role in carving the skills of our times and it has continued to innovate itself against the ever-new challenges of the changing times.
If seen in history, the credit for the invention of the modern printing-press goes to Johannes Gutenberg of Germany (15th century). But instead of calling it an invention, it would be better if it is called a rediscovery. In fact, an ancient form of this technique existed in 3rd century China, and then during the reign of the Tang dynasty of China (6th to 10th centuries) when wooden letters were printed on cloth in pictorial script. This work of printing was done at the level of the enterprise itself, that is, printing was done, there was no press. Gutenberg turned this single enterprise into a collective industry. He prepared the printing machine, where the work of printing started on a large scale. But the beginning of printing work is considered to be from China itself. Evidence of printing on wood (later metals) blocks and bricks and paper from it is found there. Gum, wax and rao of trees were used for ink.
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