History of Printing Industry Development: Civilization Communication Revolution from Oracle Bone Script to Digital Twin
1,Origin of Printing: The Enlightenment Era of Seals and Stone Carvings (200 BC -6th century AD)
Early printing prototypes in China:
During the Shang and Zhou dynasties (1600-256 BC), oracle bone inscriptions were the earliest form of text replication, and bronze inscriptions were replicated in bulk;
During the Qin and Han dynasties (221-220 BC):
The seal technology is mature and has become the earliest "movable type". The "Book of Later Han" records: "The Han official seal weighs twelve baht, and all characters are reverse engraved
The use of wooden stamps to print forty character edicts on Qin pottery measuring vessels is considered a budding form of woodblock printing;
In the first year of Yuanxing in the Eastern Han Dynasty (105 AD), Cai Lun improved papermaking techniques, laying the material foundation for printing and making information replication possible;
2,The Eastern Printing Revolution: A Thousand Year Leap from Woodblock to Typography (6-15th centuries)
a. Woodblock Printing: The First Industrialization of Civilization Transmission (6th-11th Century)
Tang Dynasty (618-907):
The woodblock printing technology is mature, and in the ninth year of Xiantong (868 AD), the Diamond Sutra is the earliest surviving printed work with a clear chronology
Technical principle: Reverse engraving on wooden board → Brushing ink → Covering paper and applying pressure → Removing the printed product, the efficiency is tens of times higher than manual copying;
Application: Buddhist scriptures, almanacs, poetry collections, "Printing calendar days have filled the world" (Complete Tang Dynasty Text)
Song Dynasty (960-1279):
The golden age of woodblock printing saw the development of both official and private printing industries, with Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Jianyang becoming the three major printing centers;
The Northern Song Dynasty's "Open Treasure" Buddhist Tripitaka, carved 130000 blocks, took 12 years to complete, demonstrating large-scale production capacity;
b. Movable type printing: a modular revolution in the dissemination of civilization (11th to 15th centuries)
Bi Shengni movable type (1041-1048):
During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the commoner inventor Bi Sheng invented the clay movable type printing technique. "Mengxi Bitan" recorded: "The method uses clay to carve characters, which are as thin as the lips of a coin, with each character being a seal, and burning them makes them strong;
Meaning: For the first time, we have achieved "multiple printing per page" and "reuse of movable type", making printing leap from "full page replication" to "movable type group printing", and increasing efficiency by more than 30 times;
C. Evolution of movable type technology:
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368): Wang Zhen invented wood movable type and wrote a systematic summary of the technical process for "Agricultural Calligraphy and Printing with Moving Type";
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): Copper movable type was widely used, and Wuxi Huasui's "Huitongguan" was famous for printing books, pioneering color overlay printing technology;
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): The "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" was printed using copper movable type, with a total of 160 million words, making it the largest movable type printing project in ancient China;
3,The Western Printing Revolution: Gutenberg and the Age of Mechanical Printing (15th-19th centuries)
a. Gutenberg Printing Press: Accelerator of Western Civilization (1440-1455)
German craftsman John Gutenberg (1398-1468):
Around 1440, the invention of the metal movable type printing system included three core innovations:
Lead antimony tin alloy movable type: low melting point, easy to form, durable, and reusable;
Oil based ink: made from lampshade, rosin, and linseed oil, with strong adhesion and clear and long-lasting imprints;
Spiral embossing machine: Drawing inspiration from the principle of grape presses, it applies even force and has much higher efficiency than manual labor;
Milestone achievements:
The Gutenberg Bible (42 line Latin Bible) was completed in 1455, consisting of 2 volumes and 1282 pages. There are currently 49 complete copies, with a single page auction price exceeding $100000;
Impact: The total number of printed books in Europe has exceeded 20 million in a short period of time, surpassing the total number of handwritten books in the previous millennium. The literacy rate has skyrocketed, and the religious reform has erupted due to the belief that "everyone can read the Bible";
b. Industrial Revolution: Mechanization and Scaling of Printing (18th and 19th Centuries)
Steam powered printing (1810):
German inventor Friedrich Koenig invented the steam printing press, which was first adopted by The Times in 1814. It printed 5000 copies per day and was 10 times more efficient than manual labor;
Printing technology blooms in diversity:
In 1796, Alois Senefeld invented lithographic printing, which utilized the principle of oil-water repulsion and later evolved into the basis of modern offset printing;
In 1846, Richard Howe invented the rotary printing press, which fed paper continuously from a roll at a speed of 8000 sheets per hour, laying the foundation for modern journalism;
In 1904, American Rubel invented offset printing technology, which became the mainstream printing method of the 20th century through the three-level transfer printing process of "printing plate → rubber blanket → substrate", and is still widely used today;
4,Modern Printing Technology: The Paradigm Shift from Analog to Digital (20th Century to Present)
a. The pinnacle of traditional printing technology (20th century)
Four major printing methods have been established:
Letterpress printing: the graphic and textual parts of the printing plate are raised, such as movable type printing and flexographic printing;
Gravure printing: the graphic and textual parts are concave, invented by Italian Finigra in 1460, suitable for high-quality images and valuable securities;
Offset printing: The graphic and blank parts are on the same plane, using oil and water to repel each other. Offset printing is its typical application;
Orifice printing: The graphic and textual parts can be printed through ink, such as screen printing, which is suitable for special materials and curved surfaces;
Innovations in Printing Materials and Processes:
In the 1950s, PS plates (pre coated photosensitive plates) were introduced, which increased plate making efficiency by 90%. China's LeKai Group achieved localization in 1973, and by 2000, its production capacity accounted for 40% of the world's total;
In 1977, Japan's Toray Company launched waterless offset printing plates to reduce environmental pollution and improve printing quality;
b. Digital Printing: The Democratization Revolution of Information Dissemination (Late 20th Century to Present)
Evolution of Digital Printing Technology:
Starting period (1950s to 1980s):
In 1959, the first electronic color separation machine was introduced, marking the birth of digital printing technology;;
In 1977, the first commercial laser printer (IBM) and inkjet printer (HP) were introduced, marking the beginning of the office printing revolution;
Growth period (1990-2000s):
1993-1994: Electronic photographic digital printing machines (such as Xeikon 3000) were put into commercial use, achieving "one sheet printing" and "variable data printing", making small batch personalized printing possible;
In 1997, Heidelberg and Kodak jointly established Nexpress to develop a high-speed color digital printing system, making digital printing quality close to traditional offset printing;
Maturity period (2010 present):
Breakthroughs in inkjet technology: Piezoelectric inkjet and thermal foaming inkjet technologies are mature, with a resolution of 2400dpi and a speed of hundreds of meters per minute, which can print on various materials;
3D printing: Extending from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, it entered industrial applications after 2010 and achieved "additive manufacturing" in fields such as automotive, medical, and construction;
5,The Modern Development of China's Printing Industry: From Lead and Fire to Number and Web (1840 present)
a. The Difficult Start of Modern Printing Industry (1840-1949)
Technology Introduction and Localization:
In 1843, the first modern printing factory, Mohai Bookstore, appeared in Shanghai and introduced Western printing equipment;
In 1895, Shanghai Li Yongchang Machinery Factory was established, which was the earliest printing machinery factory in China and opened the way for the localization of printing equipment;
In 1915, the Commercial Press introduced the Haili lithography press, marking the beginning of China's history of offset printing;
Revolutionary printing:
1921-1949: The printing industry led by the CPC printed revolutionary books and periodicals with lithography, lead printing and other technologies to spread progressive ideas, such as New Youth and Communist Manifesto;
b. The Leapfrog Development of Printing Industry in New China (1949 present)
In the early days of the founding of New China (1949-1978):
1949-1965: Establishing a state-owned printing system, laying the foundation for the industry, with a total printing output value of less than 100 million yuan, over a thousand enterprises, and 70000 to 80000 employees;
1966-1976: The industry development slowed down, but there were still breakthroughs in technology, such as the localization of LeKai PS version;
The golden period of reform and opening up (1978-2000):
The printing industry has an average annual growth rate of over 15%, far exceeding the GDP growth rate. The output value has increased from less than 5 billion yuan to 480 billion yuan, the number of enterprises has increased to nearly 100000, and the number of employees has reached 3.6 million;
In 1993, the first Shanghai International Printing Exhibition showcased the American Witt digital inkjet printer, marking the beginning of the commercialization of digital printing in China
Digital Transformation Period (2000 present):
In 2016, China's total printing output value reached 115 trillion yuan, with a total profit of 67.53 billion yuan and a foreign processing trade volume of 87.43 billion yuan, ranking as the world's largest printing country;
By 2022, the total output value will reach 1.43 trillion yuan, with over 100000 enterprises and more than 2.4 million employees, forming three major industrial clusters in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing Tianjin Hebei regions;
In 2023, the digital printing market will reach 78 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of 18%, far exceeding the global average and becoming a new engine for industry growth;
6, Global Printing Market Landscape: Digitization and Sustainable Development (2020-2030)
a. Market size and regional distribution
Global market:
The global printing industry's output value is expected to reach approximately 800 billion US dollars in 2023, and is projected to reach 900 billion US dollars by 2030, with an annual growth rate of approximately 2.5%;
Regional distribution: The Asia Pacific region accounts for 37.5%, North America accounts for 25%, Europe accounts for 22%, and China contributes about one-third of the global printing output value;
The Rise of Digital Printing:
The global digital printing market is expected to reach 42.7 billion US dollars in 2024 and surpass 62 billion US dollars by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 6.8%
The growth rate of digital printing in China is 18%, which is 2.6 times the global average and has enormous market potential;
b. Industry Transformation: Dual Wheel Drive of Intelligence and Greening
Technological Trends:
Intelligent production: The application of AI visual inspection system achieves a printing defect recognition rate of 99.5%, and the automatic plate changing time is reduced to within 30 minutes, greatly improving efficiency and quality;
Digital twin technology: Real time mapping between virtual models and physical devices, reducing the debugging cycle from several months to one week and reducing energy consumption by 37.7%;
Personalized customization: Digital printing has made "on-demand production" and "one piece printing" a reality, increasing the proportion of small batch and multi variety orders to 40%;
Green printing:
The proportion of environmentally friendly material applications has increased to 18%, and traditional solvent based inks such as soy ink and water-based ink have been replaced, reducing VOC emissions by 60%;
The digital process has increased paper utilization by 15%, reduced energy consumption by 40%, and lowered unit energy consumption to 0.25 kWh/thousand prints;
7,The Future of Printing Industry: Ecological Reconstruction from "Printing" to "Intelligent Manufacturing"
a. Technological integration: infinite possibilities of printing+
Printed electronics: Printing conductive ink on flexible substrates to manufacture circuits, applied to RFID tags, flexible displays, and intelligent packaging, with an annual market growth rate of over 25%;
Intelligent packaging: integrating sensors, QR codes, NFC chips to achieve product traceability, temperature and humidity monitoring, and interactive marketing. It is expected that the market size will reach 120 billion yuan by 2025;
3D+2D Fusion: First 3D printing molding, then 2D printing decoration, creating a unique product experience, and expanding its application in medical, automotive, cultural and creative fields;
b. Business Model Restructuring: From "Printing Processing" to "Comprehensive Solutions"
Service transformation: Upgrade from single printing to a full chain solution of "creativity+design+printing+post-processing+data services", with a 50% increase in profit margin;
Industrial integration: Combining printing with digital media, the Internet of Things, and blockchain to create new forms of communication, such as AR/VR printing and blockchain copyright protection;
The printer of civilization, the shaper of the future
The printing industry, from oracle bone inscriptions to digital twins, spanning over 3000 years, has always been the "copier" and "accelerator" of human civilization. From Bi Sheng to Gutenberg, from lead type to digital flow, every technological revolution has profoundly changed the way information is disseminated and the structure of human society.
In the digital age, the printing industry is undergoing a magnificent transformation from "large-scale replication" to "personalized intelligent manufacturing". Although facing the impact of digital media, it is opening up new blue oceans in packaging, cultural and creative, industrial manufacturing and other fields with the unique advantages of "physical touch+digital empowerment".
In the next decade, the printing industry will continue to write the civilization legend of this era in a world of "virtual and real integration" driven by the dual wheels of "intelligent efficiency improvement" and "green protection of the earth".
Note: Some market data is sourced from industry reports from 2023-2025, and there may be differences in statistical standards. Technical parameters and development history are relatively determined.
