Pioneers of Printing: The Beginnings of Offset Printing
The development of the offset printing press took place in three stages. It all began in 1875, when the Englishman Robert Barclay patented the first offset rotary printing press. Read the full story about the origins of offset printing.
Have you ever seen how newspapers, magazines or books are printed these days? Surprisingly, the technology still in use today dates back to the late 19th century. The key term is offset printing. But what exactly is it? Offset printing is a printing technique in which the inked image or text is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and from there onto the paper or another printing surface. The offset printing press is still used today for printing large quantities of images or text. It remains an effective method for printing numerous copies quickly, efficiently and to a high standard.
The first rotary offset lithography press
The origins of modern offset printing date back to 1875, when the Englishman Robert Barclay combined the transfer printing technique from the mid-19th century with Richard March Hoe’s rotary printing press from 1843. The result was the first rotary offset printing press, which replaced the flat stone with a metal cylinder. This offset cylinder was wrapped in specially treated cardboard, which transferred the print image from the stone to the metal surface.
Offset printing, which was developed later, is attributed to two independent inventors: the American Ira Washington Rubel and the German-born US immigrant Cašpar Hermann. Around 1904, both developed printing presses that printed indirectly, i.e. from the printing plate onto a rubber roller and then onto a sheet of paper.
Ira Washington Rubel and his accidental invention
As photography became popular in the early 1900s, the once-flourishing art of lithography fell into obscurity. Instead, photogravure was on the rise. When Rubel, whilst working with Barclays’ printing press, forgot to insert a sheet during the printing process, he discovered that the rubber mat (used to move the paper to be printed through the press) produced a much sharper image than the metal. Once this printing technique had been refined, offset printing experienced a new heyday.
Cašpar Hermann develops the first web offset printing press
At around the same time, Cašpar Hermann, an immigrant to the US from Königsberg, Germany, converted letterpress rotary presses into offset printing presses. He began with a machine he manufactured for the Harris Automation Press Company in Niles, Ohio. After returning to Germany in 1907, Hermann planned numerous further developments. One of these was the first web offset printing press, in which a continuous roll of paper is fed through the press. Only after printing are the pages separated and cut to the desired size. However, it was not until 1910 that Hermann’s ideas could be realised, in collaboration with Vogtländische Maschinenfabrik AG (VOMAG). The first web offset press was then unveiled in Leipzig in 1912. It was the prototype of the modern offset printing presses still in use today.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
The first rotary offset printing press was developed in 1875. The Englishman Robert Barclay combined transfer printing technology with a rotary printing press designed by Richard March Hoe.
In a web offset printing press, a continuous roll of paper is fed through the press. Only after printing is the paper web separated and cut to the desired size. Cašpar Hermann developed an early web offset press, which was unveiled in Leipzig in 1912.
Modern offset printing is attributed to two independent inventors: the American Ira Washington Rubel and the German-born US immigrant Cašpar Hermann. Both developed printing presses around 1904
In indirect offset printing, the image is not transferred directly from the printing plate to the paper. It is first transferred to a rubber roller and then from there to the paper.
