Did you know... Johannes Gutenberg died a poor man? He
was sued by his wealthy business partners in 1455 and lost
the lawsuit, which resulted in the iconic printer being forced
to give up his printing business and, ultimately, into financial
ruin, before his death in 1468.
Did you know... Gutenberg printed more than 150 copies of
the Bible, but the whereabouts of only 49 are known today?
Did you know... Ben was not the first printer in the Franklin
family? When Ben was only a teenager, his older brother was
publishing the New England Courant. However, by age 22,
Franklin was in business for himself, printing
the Pennsylvania Gazette.
His printing company was also contracted to print all paper
currency for Pennsylvania and Delaware, as well as
documents from the Pennsylvania Assembly, where Franklin
was an elected clerk. Franklin was eventually appointed
Postmaster of Philadelphia, which resulted in greatly
increasing the circulation of his newspaper.
Did you know... Even though "America's printer" Ben
Franklin was a successful businessman and renowned
inventor, he was in substantial debt most of his life?
Although not widely known, Franklin was often reckless in
his business ventures, while spending large sums of money
to support his statesmen reputation and lifestyle, and fund
his global travel and adventures.
Did you know... The world's smallest printed book
(according to the "Guinness World Book of Records") is a 22page Japanese picture book, containing mostly flowers, that
measures 0.0291x0.0295˝? A magnifying glass is necessary
to see the images.
Did you know... The largest catalog printed was more than
2.5˝ thick? In January 2005, Aviall Services released its
"Product and Catalog Book," which contains 2,656 pages and
weighs 7.4 lbs.
Did you know... King Henry VIII spearheaded the printing
movement in England? The infamous monarch granted a
royal charter to fund the development of Cambridge
University Press in 1534. As the world's oldest printing
operation, Cambridge has been operating nearly non-stop
since 1584, when the first "CU Press" title rolled off its
presses. Today, the printer publishes more than 2,000 titles
a year that are distributed to 200-plus countries.
Did you know... The first American paper notes were
printed in denominations of cents, not dollars? Issued in
1862 to help finance the Civil War, the first American
currency was printed in 1-cent, 5-cents, 25-cents and 50cents denominations.
Did you know... The oldest surviving, printed book is the
Buddhist "Diamond-Sutra," dated 868 AD?
Did you know... The invention of the printing press was
instrumental in the "Scientific Revolution?" As printing
presses began popping up in towns across Europe, more
secular books were printed, especially those relating to
science. Scientists working on the same/similar issues could
now record, print and, ultimately, share it with other
scientists in faraway places. That accurate (not potentially
miscopied) information was the cornerstone of
communicating and advancing scientific knowledge.
Did you know... Einstein praised the printing press, noting
it was an important agent in the transformation of learning
and the rise of modern scientific thought? Einstein believed
the printing press transformed the educational process and
the student/teacher relationship, as well as the research
process. Technical textbooks became silent teachers, easily
available to students. He noted in his writings that updated
editions, especially mathematical ones, provided students
with knowledge that would eventually surpass not only their
instructors, but the wisdom of ancients.
Did you know... The Renaissance most likely would not
have taken place without the help of the printing press? This
revered invention made it possible to print ideas about a
new philosophy known as Humanism (the resurgence of
ancient Greek and Roman classic manuscripts/teachings)—
in the form of papers, pamphlets and books—and
disseminate them to Renaissance men everywhere.
Did you know... Politicians first started using printed
propaganda to get citizens' interest and support during the
Renaissance? Beforehand, political figures relied on word-ofmouth to disseminate info about them/their campaign. But
with the emergence of printing presses, current political
discussion and the development of new ideas were easily
shared.
Did you know... Mexico had a working printing press more
than 100 years before America? Mexico began printing
operations in 1534, while the first printing press in America
wasn't operational until 1639, when the Glover family
arrived from England and opened a print shop in Cambridge,
MA.
Did you know... Typefaces/fonts were originally created by
hand and often named after the printer who created them? A
great example is French printer Claude Garamonde; his font
is still in use today.
Did you know... It took almost two years to print
Shakespeare's compilation of 36 plays into one book, titled
"The First Folio?" At almost 400 pages, the process was so
time-consuming, proofreading and corrections were done
during production.
Did you know... Historians cite an (estimated) 12 millionplus propaganda pamphlets for helping turn the tide of
WWII against the Germans? The leaflets were printed and
dropped over Germany with the intention of lifting the
morale of American and Allied soldiers, while deflating that
of the Nazis.
Did you know... The initial print run of J.K. Rowling's "Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows" broke a printing industry
record? As a pop-culture phenomenon, all of the books in the
"Harry Potter" series had initial print runs in the millions.
But, "Deathly Hallows" greatly outnumbered the others, with
12 million copies in its first run, making it the largest initial
print run ever recorded.
Did you know... The world's smallest printing machine
measures 2x2x11˝? The PrintStik, which weighs just 1.5 lbs.,
is produced by American manufacturer Planon.
Did you know... The Incredible Hulk's green skin color was
initially due to a mistake in the printing process? In the
debut of Stan Lee's comic book series "The Incredible Hulk,"
Lee gave the Hulk a gray skin color to purposely disassociate
the monster with any particular ethnic group. However,
there were problems with the gray coloring, which resulted
in a different-hued Hulk in each copy. Some of copies were
green and, when Lee saw them, he decided that green suited
the Hulk better than gray.
Did you know... Portable printing presses were used on the
battlefields during the Civil War? These small, mobile
presses allowed soldiers to set up print shops on the
battlefield.
Did you know... You may be committing a crime if you sell
or lend someone a children's book that was printed before
1985? In 2008, Congress passed the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act, and one of the laws enacted
prohibited the sale or lending of children's books printed
prior to 1985—unless the ink is tested for lead.
Unfortunately, tests that analyze older books for traces of
lead are expensive, forcing libraries and used-book retailers
to dispose of old children's books rather than have them
tested.
Did you know... Long-time writer/artist for Marvel Comics,
Mark Gruenwald's last wish was to be cremated and have his
ashes mixed with the ink in the printing of a comic book?
His request was honored by the Marvel staff in August 1996,
when Gruenwald (who worked on titles like "The Avengers,"
"Captain America" and "Thor") passed away from a heart
attack at age 42. Some of the artist's ashes were stirred into
the ink of an issue of "Squadron Supreme," one of the titles
that he helped produce before his death.
Did you know... Marvel Comics also published a comic book
based on the rock group KISS, wherein a certain band
member's blood was added to the ink? In 2006, a similar
marketing gimmick took place when blood from the lead
actor of the horror flick "Saw III" was used to print the movie
posters.
Did you know... Boy Scouts can earn badges for printing?
Graphic Arts and Pulp & Paper merit badges are awarded to
Boy Scouts who complete a day-long workshop, where the
youths get hands-on training at 12 learning/activity stations.
Did you know... The Black Death significantly contributed to
the evolution of the printing process? The dead left a surplus
of clothes, which were inherited by the living, who could
now dispose of their old, worn garments. The discarded
clothes were used to make "rag paper," which became an
inexpensive alternative to parchment (sheepskin) and
vellum (calfskin)—the only materials used in bookmaking at
the time.
Rag paper was a real bargain compared to the hundreds of
calfskins and sheepskins it took to make one copy of the
Bible—which was the staple text being produced.
Did you know... The deaths of hundreds of monks in
Western European monasteries marked a milestone, leading
to the invention of the printing press? After many of the
monks (who copied Bibles) had succumbed to the Black
Death, there was a massive void of bookmakers, which
drastically increased the cost of copying Bibles. At the same
time, the cost of rag paper was continually decreasing.
Ultimately, the mass production of cheap paper, combined
with an absence of bookmakers, became incentives to create
a better printing process.
Printing Press. This technique uses applied pressure to an
inked surface resting upon a paper or cloth, thus transfering
the ink. In some ways, this revolutionizes the industry, and
credit goes to Johannes Gutenberg. A goldsmith by
profession, the German introduced the first printing press in
1440. It will be nice if that equipment is still around, but it’s
not. However, some materials similar to what Gutenberg
used are currently on exhibit. These will remind everyond of
printing’s humble beginnings – and the long road.
Different forms of Print Media
1. Newspaper: It is one of the most important and effective
forms of print media. It:
i) informs people about various events, issues, and
occurrences worldwide.
ii) helps readers to build an opinion about various national
and international issues, events through its editorial and
opinion columns.
iii) increases the sale of various goods and services through
its advertisements.
2. Magazine: Magazines are the predecessor of the daily
newspaper. They provide detailed articles on various topics
such as food, fashion, sports, finance, lifestyle, and so on.
Magazines are published weekly, monthly, quarterly, or
annually. Many of them are sold all over the world.
3. Broucher: Also known as pamphlets, brouchers contain
information about the business or organization. They are
mostly distributed by hand or sent through mails. It is a
fantastic way to showcase your product to the new
customers.
4. Newsletter: A newsletter is a publication that mostly
covers one main topic. Sometimes, people have to subscribe
for the newsletters, or many a time, they are even free.
Newsletters are generally used as information sources for
neighborhood, communities, and groups having an interest
about that particular topic, or event. They are also used for
promotional purpose, political campaigns, or for causes.
Tomas Pinpin
 Father of Filipino printing; learned the art of printing
from Spanish friars and Chinese craftsmen.
 1637, Successos Felices (Fortunate Events), a 14-page
newsletter in Spanish to satisfy the colonizers’ thirst for
news about other parts of the country; devoted to the
raids by Muslim pirates.
 Newsletter then was in fashion as community
newspapers in England and Europe
 Comparatively, the first American newspaper, Publick
Occurrences, came out in 1690
 Hojas Volantes-flying sheets for mass readership
entitled Aviso Al Publico (Notices to the Public), 1799;
town criers for the Spaniards in the Phil.; appeared
intermittently in 50 years.
Doctrina Christiana was written by Fray Juan de
Plasencia, and is believed to be one of the earliest
books printed in the Philippines, in the year 1593.