Stamp printing in detail LETTERPRESS

Letterpress printing is the opposite of line engraving. The image area is raised up, not dug in and the raised type receives a coating of ink which is then transferred to the surface of the paper. It is not absorbed into the sheet as it is with line engraving.

Its earliest form is woodblock printing, or xylography, which was developed in China around the 2nd century AD, where the image is carved into a single block of wood.

It was revolutionised by Gutenberg in the 15th century, with the invention of movable type. This led to a boom in the production of books and other material and many early printing presses were originally wine presses, adapted to a new industry. They soon developed. The first all-iron hand-fed press was introduced in 1798. In 1814 came the first steam-driven cylinder press. The type was inked by rollers,