The Invention of the Cast Iron Printing Press

Although the Industrial Revolution in Britain saw a lot of advancements in not only the labour markets but also social and scientific advancements it wasn't until the refinement of the hand-operated Gutenberg-style printing press that the world started to see a real influx of printed materials and by 1800 Lord Stanhope in Britain had built a press completely from cast iron which reduced the force required to created printed materials by 90%, while doubling the size of the printed area. With a capacity of 480 pages per hour, it doubled the output of the old style press. Nonetheless, the limitations inherent to the traditional method of printing became obvious and a new era of printing was born.

There were many publications during this time that where describing this new technology. Encyclopaedias such as Harris's Lexicon Technicum (1704) and Dr Abraham Rees's Cyclopaedia (1802–1819) contain much of value. Cyclopaedia contains an enormous amount of information about the science and technology of the first half of the Industrial Revolution, very well illustrated by fine engravings. Foreign printed sources such as the Descriptions des Arts et Métiers and Diderot's Encyclopédie explained foreign methods with fine engraved plates.

Periodical publications about manufacturing and technology began to appear in the last decade of the 18th century, and many regularly included notice of the latest patents. Foreign periodicals, such as the Annales des Mines, published accounts of travels made by French engineers who observed British methods on study tours. (1)





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Citations:
1.  Wikipedia 2010, Gutenberg Press (2010), U.S., viewed 7th of October, 2010.
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_press#Gutenberg.27s_press>