Typography Research Most Human Languages Thesis

In this crucial first printing development, a raised, reversed image of each letter could be hand-set, placing each word side by side, into a frame that held the combined pieces. Ink was applied to the raised letters and a sheet of paper placed over them and pressed down. This reverse stamp created a correct mirror image on the paper of the desired text. When enough copies were printed, the letters could then be taken apart and reused. Numerous copies of a document could be printed much faster than ever before, and soon printing shops were appearing at a rapid rate over the next century. Not only books, but also newspapers, pamphlets, and other forms of media helped spread news throughout Europe, and by the 17th century, throughout the British colonies in America.

During the Industrial Revolution, technology evolved rapidly, including the printing press techniques. The steam-powered press was invented in Germany in the 19th century, and in 1846, the rotary press was introduced in the United States. This latest printing invention allowed images to be printed onto a continuous sheet of paper from a rotating drum. Next, the Linotype typesetting machine was patented by the American inventor Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1884, permitting typesetters to set text by typing on a keyboard rather than hand-setting each letter. Together, the Linotype machine and the rotary press transformed the speed of printing. These so-called "hot-metal" or "letterpress" printing technologies dominated the industry until the 1950s, when phototypesetting and photo-offset printing were introduced.

Photocopying was another technology that made document duplication easier. Invented in the 1950's by American physicist and inventor Edwin Land, photocopying transfers an image from one sheet of paper to another very rapidly. A natural advance from photocopying is the most recent computer-based typesetting and printing. Computers enable users to type document pages on the screen before actually printing them, and can be viewed and printed in either black and white or colored ink. Page layouts can also be transmitted digitally (numerically coded into electronic pulse format) through fax machines, computer modems, telephone networks, and satellite systems to separate locations for editing, redesign, and printing.This spread of computer-based word processing and graphic design has led to the fastest growth in the typography field that history has ever seen.

Now called "desktop publishing," technology today allows almost anyone to design and publish newsletters, newspapers, or magazines for their audience. Furthermore, the world has been transformed by computer and information technologies, and communication information can be transmitted almost anywhere at the speed of light. With the invention of the internet, yet another form of electronic information, communication technology continues to evolve and change. One area of design that has trailed more than any other in the transition to the internet has been typography. The first versions of HTML did not allow web designers any control over what typeface they could use for their page. However, with the entrance of CSS, or cascading style sheets, a whole new era of web typography has begun. Designers can once again choose the size and look of the printed word, much as they could at the dawn of the printed press. One way designers are working around the limitations of web typography is to use "image and Flash text replacement" techniques to display custom typefaces. A recent Flash replacement method is SIFR (or Scalable Inman Flash Replacement, pronounced "siffer"). SIFR gives access to embedding custom typefaces in web pages without the user having it on their machine. Even though these new advances give a glimpse of the future, it is merely a quick fix to the current limitations of web typography. As these techniques continue to develop, a new era of web typography will be ushered in and typography will continue to grow and evolve as it has always done.

References

Morrison, Matt. "Historically Speaking: Typography and Technology." Rolling Sphere Design, http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Morrison accessed Oct 15, 2009.

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