How steam and rotary presses made mass printing possible

Printing became a nonstop industrial process

Millions Of Copies Per Day

Steam power, rotating cylinders, and paper fed from large rolls changed printing from a hand-operated job into fast industrial production. The new machines could print millions of copies of a page in a single day.

Venice became a European printing capital

417 printers by 1500

By the end of the 15th century, Venice had become a center of European printing. The Aldine Press helped establish modern punctuation, page formats, and italic type—features still used in books.

Old wood-pulp paper slowly destroys itself

Chemicals used to make much wood-pulp paper in the 1800s and early 1900s left it acidic. Over time, the acid breaks the paper down until it becomes weak and brittle. The process has been called a "slow fire" because the paper gradually destroys itself.

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How steam and rotary presses made mass printing possible

Printing became a nonstop industrial process

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