Printing is the process of making an impression on a flat surface such as a piece of paper. It is one of the oldest and most fundamental of all art forms.
The printing industry has dominated the multiplication of knowledge for over five centuries, but its monopoly on that market is under threat from new audiovisual and information media such as radio, television, film, microfilm and tape recording. The importance of printing has also been a key factor in the development of other related technologies, such as paper, stitching and binding, and has been critical to industrialisation.
Printed books were first developed in China in the ninth century, and soon became widely used throughout the country. They were produced in a wide variety of styles, including Confucian classics, Buddhist scriptures, dictionaries and mathematics texts.
Movable type is an early form of print that enables the creation of images with individual characters moving in and out of position. It is used to create text in Chinese, Arabic and other scripts.
Lithography is a form of print that produces an image on a stone or metal plate. Traditionally it was made from stone but is now more often a metal plate, such as zinc or aluminium.
Screen printing is a form of print that uses a fine silk or synthetic mesh with holes allowing ink to pass through it. It can be used for printing on fabric such as t-shirts and homewares.