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Stores such as Minuteman Press are part of a history which winds its way through the eons – the history of colour printing is an interesting one, with the invention of Lithography being highlighted below.

Lithography remains as one of the most important influences of colour printing and was one of the greatest technological successes since the invention of relief printing in the fifteenth century. This is a mechanical process in which the non-printing and printing areas of the plate are all placed on the same level; this is in direct opposition to the relief process as it needs the image to be cut into the printing block. A state of chemical repellence is what lithography is based on as designs are painted onto a prepared limestone in crayon or other waxy substances, paper is then placed on the surface and a roller imprints the image onto the wet paper. Oil is repelled by water; therefore it makes a perfect image onto the material.

Lithography was invented in the sixteenth century in Europe and in less than two decades it quickly made its way to the United States. In order to provide colour prints, multiple stones were used and the amount of colours simple depended on how many prepared stones there were. One of the only issues was ensuring that the image was correctly lined up as sometimes there would be an overlay issue. Full colour printers owe a debt of gratitude to the lithography machines of old, as they paved the way for the machines and processes we use today.

Contact Minuteman Press Port Elizabeth CBD for your full colour printing and all your printing needs.