From block printing technology to modern industrial printing technology

First of all, in terms of the existing archaeological evidence and documentary materials, it is impossible to confirm or deny that Chinese movable type printing spread to Europe, which is an open question.

Some Chinese scholars like to cite American scholar Thomas Francis Carter's book "The Invention of Printing in China and Its Spread to the West" to prove that Western scholars also believe that Gutenberg printing originated in China.

In fact, Carter does not explicitly conclude in his book that Gutenberg printing came directly from China, but only lists the circumstances under which Gutenberg printing may have been influenced by China, as well as the social conditions and technical basis for the invention in Europe. He also highlights in the book:

We do not suppose that the persons mentioned above were necessarily the direct ancestors of the inventors of printing in Europe; The latter three, in particular, who invented and improved movable type, seem to belong to the side, and their relation to the inventors of printing in Europe is not so much ancestors as Cousins.

Then Carter made it very clear:

Whether there is a direct correlation between the Far East's McLay type, wood type, and copper type and the European invention of printing is a difficult question to answer, but on the evidence available the answer is in the negative. Bi Sheng's movable type had never been widely popular, and was almost completely ignored until the Yuan Dynasty came into close contact with Europe. The use of wood type was at the time of the most frequent contact with Europe, but the truth about the situation after the interruption of trade routes and in the hundred years before the beginning of printing in Europe is unclear.

Even if Korea, influenced by Chinese printing, was the first to invent the type in the early 15th century and mass-print books with movable metal type, it does not prove that Gutenberg's printing came from this, and "there is no evidence to date that the two are related," because, "as far as we know, during that half-century there was almost no communication in Europe and the Far East." Carter then concluded cautiously:

However, it is too early to say definitively that movable type printing in China and North Korea is not directly related to movable type printing in Europe. On the other hand, we have not yet found sufficient evidence to clearly confirm the relationship between the two, and until we have positive or negative evidence, we must rule out stereotypes and make no conclusions.

Modern printing technology

Today's large printing industry is mainly Germany, Japan and the United States tripartite. And the equipment and technology are very advanced and complex. The German printing press three giants: Heidelberg, Golberg, Manroland; Japan's Big Three: Komori, Mitsubishi, Akiyama. In terms of influence, Heidelberg is definitely the largest, with a very high market share.

I don't think I can explain the various types of equipment in detail. I'm just going to show you what modern printing equipment looks like.

The speed master of Heidelberg

Printing shop

In terms of printing technology, in addition to traditional offset printing, there are many new directions, such as UV in the process, POD in the printing method, and so on. Although this industry is not as concerned as the chip industry, the technology dependence in this field is no worse than the chip industry.