EARLY CHINESE PRINTING
It is hardly necessary for us to refer to Johann Gutenberg’s invention in 1436 of separate type for each letter. Many centuries before that the Chinese had made wood engravings of complete pages and printed them on paper. Their method was to prepare an ink copy on a sheet of paper and then transfer the copy by pressing the paper on the wood before the ink was dry, after which they carved away all the surface except those parts which were inked. This gave them a reverse plate from which any number of copies could be printed. The invention of individual type which could be used over and over again for setting new copy was a marked improvement over the Chinese system.