Printing is the process of applying pressure to a surface coated with ink or other colorants to form text or illustrations. Certain modern printing processes are not dependent on either the mechanical concept of pressure or the material concept of inks or other colorants.
Historically, the term print has also been used for all sorts of other things. These include money and postage stamps, all kinds of financial instruments (checks, stock certificates, cerrificates of deposit, etc.), and trade information, which is typically printed on ticker tape as trades are executed.
In the early tenth century in China, paged books began to replace scrolls as the primary mode of reading and reference. The woodblock printing technique allowed an expert printer to produce 2,000 sheets a day, enabling the rapid dissemination of Confucian classics, Buddhist scriptures, dictionaries, mathematics texts and other information that had previously been available only in manuscript form.
Early journeyman printers learned their trade on the job and were paid a small salary for their efforts, while owners of large publishing houses and governmental printing bureaus collected royalties from sales. Some authors formed cooperative associations or publication syndicates, whose members shared the risk and rewards of printing a given work. Some publishers utilized subscription publishing, in which a prospectus was distributed to potential readers, who could subscribe for a single copy or an entire run.
When preparing files for printing, make sure they are 300 DPI or higher to ensure that text is sharp and clear and that images appear crisp and well-defined. Also, use CMYK color instead of RGB. It is more accurate and will save you money in the long run.