1. Tilley
British/ Literature
28 of October 2011
The History of Offset Printing
For hundreds of years the printing industry has had an impact on not only the United
States but everyone in whole world. Pretty soon the printing industry is gonna disappear because,
there are many replacements for example, electronic books, also a big one is the Internet. I know
that the printing presses are extremely expensive but everyone needs them especially when you
do fifteen thousand copies for hours and if you charge five dollars a copy then you would make
close to seventy-five thousand dollars per hour. If the printing industry were to discontinue then
not of many people will not have jobs but I have many family members also friends that I know
has been a part of printing, for example. My grandfather retired from Heidelberg USA as the
Senior Vice President of sales. My Grandmother when she was in her late Twenties she ran a
small press in the evening. Also my father has been in the printing press industry for nineteen
years, also he is known to be on of the best mechanics in the western region if anyone needs
something fixed they call him.
The great man to start printing also start the company that gave both my grandfather and
father a job was Johannes Gutenberg. "Gutenberg was born in 1398 Mainz, located in Germany,
He was a German Blacksmith, Goldsmith, Printer also a publisher who introduced modern book
printing. (Heidelberg 2). Gutenberg was a smart, out going man that had some really great
inventions, like the first ever printing press, also the Gutenberg Bible. "He was the first European
to use movable type of printing, around 1439, and the global inventor of the printing
press." (Heidelberg 2) Which "movable type" is normally a type of system of printing and or
typography that may use movable components in other words to reproduce the elements
documents. "John Lienhard, technology historian, says "Most of Gutenberg's early life is a
mystery." (Heidelberg 2) Gutenburg has really impact society in the whole world with his
invention of the printing press.
There are many great printing industries and also many ones have ran out of business in
the world but the one my family has been with is Heidelberg. An offset printing can printing
anywhere between brochures, business cards, bus shelter graphics, counter cards, fliers, floor
graphics, post cards, posters and many more. Heidleberg has many machines and also different
machines like the Speedmaster xl which makes about eighteen thousand copies per hour its about
thirty feet long. The printing has came a long way from what it use to be, there is so much
technology in the printing that the presses can run by there-self. In 1850, "Andreas Hamm,
"Ancestor" of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft founds a bell foundry and press

2. factory in Frankenthal, Germany." (Gutenberg 3) In all the printing press has really changed the
out look on life.
A wise man once said, “It is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in
inexhaustible streams...Through it, God will spread His Word. A spring of truth shall flow from
it: like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light previously unknown
to shine amongst men” ― Johannes Gutenberg (Offset printing 4) Thanks to, the words of a
wonderful man that moved most of everyone to get started in printing business. Johannes
Gutenburg was the founder of offset printing. Offset printing is described as a technique in which
the image is offset or transferred from the plate that is being copied onto a rubber blanket, then it
is printed onto the surface of the paper. Offset printing is the most common printing every printer
uses there are hundreds of companies out in this world. Although printing has been a long time it
is a dying trade, due to the fact of internet and as the electronic books.
Because demand grew so rapidly, Sternberg installed the very first assem- bly line in a German
printing press factory, permitting 100 "Tiegels" to be assembled each month. The merger of
Heidelberg's high-speed press factory with the Giesling machine factory (M.A.G.) in 1929
expanded the company's metal-casting capability. In the early 1930s, various banks acquired a
majority interest in the "Schnellpressenfabrik Heidelberg" before transferring their shareholdings
to Rheinelektra, a subsidiary of RWE, in 1941. (Printing press 5)
In 1934, Heidelberg introduced a fully automatic high-speed cylinder press to the market,
and it caught on like wild fire. Because demand grew so rapidly, Sternberg installed the very first
assem- bly line in a German printing press factory, permitting 100 "Tiegels" to be assembled
each month. The merger of Heidelberg's high-speed press factory with the Giesling machine
factory (M.A.G.) in 1929 expanded the company's metal-casting capability. In the early 1930s,
various banks acquired a majority interest in the "Schnellpressenfabrik Heidelberg" before
transferring their shareholdings to Rheinelektra, a subsidiary of RWE, in 1941. At this time, 60
percent of the company's revenues came from foreign sales, which became difficult to maintain
after the outbreak of WW II. Because printing presses were not essential to the war effort,
production was cut back. To keep its skilled workers from being sent to the front, the company
accepted orders for precision lathes and hydraulic devices. Sternberg kept his distance from the
National Socialist movement, which he was always suspicious of. This explain why, when U.S.
troops marched into Heidelberg on March 30, 1945, the press factory was neither occupied nor
dismantled, and production there resumed on May 8 - the same day that Germany surrendered to
the Allies. (Heidelberg 2)
The process of printing very different you have to go to trade school for about two years,
then you have to have a class with the company you have picked to see how they run there own
machines. My father is one of the employers that teachers to the new students in class how to
operate and works on with the machine. " The Company's financial success continued despite
several setbacks, such as the slump of the mid-70's. Around 1980, more amore printers were
looking to print in color, and Heidelberg presses were selling so well that a second factory was

3. built in Amstetten, near the Black Forest. This plant, which opened in 1985, was fully
computerized. In 1988, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG acquired the American web Offset
Specialist, Harris, Thus Entering a completely new market segment." Heidelberg was extremely
busy in the 1980's. (Gutenberg 3)
"In September 1999, Heidelberg acquired a 30 percent share in Gallus Holding, AG (St.
Gallen, Switzerland). The two companies agreed to work closely in the fields of marketing, sales
and technology. Gallus develops and produces rotary printing presses with a particular focus on
flexographic printing and letterpress and screen printing. The group's products are mainly aimed
at label printers, and it is the international market leader in this sector - not least in terms of
quality. In September 1999, Heidelberg also opened its new international spare parts center in
Wiesloch. Some 46 million Euro have been invested in the World Logistics Center, which offers
customers an even better supply of spare parts than before. Using the latest technology and
cutting-edge logistics, original Heidelberg spare parts can be delivered anywhere in Europe
within 24 hours, with up to 4,000 orders being dispatched in a day." (Offset printing 4) In the
1990's Heidelberg has really evolved since the 1970's. The were producing much more presses
and designing more presses that ran faster and also stronger.
More and more frontiers are coming down within the world of printing. The traditionally
separate areas of prepress, press and postpress are moving closer and closer together and are
being linked by comprehensive solutions. The Heidelberg Group has developed from a
traditional manufacturer of printing presses into an internationally focussed global player on the
market for cutting-edge printing solutions, and is therefore playing a major role in this dynamic
process. It is the aim of the company to play a leading part in shaping the future of the print
media industry. And the customer is always central to everything. Whether you run a small
family business or a major company, Heidelberg's modular components offer tailor-made
solutions ranging from individual products to complete workflows. This enables us to provide
the entire print media industry with comprehensive ideas. Heidelberg presented itself as a
solutions provider for the first time at the drupa 2000 exhibition in May, the largest trade fair in
the industry. There were two particular highlights making their debut at the exhibition - the
Mainstream 80, Heidelberg's new newspaper press, and the NexPress 2100 digital color press,
which was developed in a joint venture with Kodak. (Heidelberg 2)
In 1957 another factory was opened at Wieslock, West Germany and the number of
employees rose to around 6,000. In 1967 Heidelberg announced that it had built over 175,000 of
the platen presses. One press was built every 14 minutes. Nevertheless, each day’s output was
shipped out at once—the factory has never been able to keep any in stock. In 1958 a new line of
cutting and creasing platen presses were introduced. Four years later, because of American
demands, a press for letterset and offset duplicating was brought out. In spite of the tremendous
acceptance of offset presses, prerssmen are not likely to forget the Heidelberg press. Long will

4. they admire the ease at which it can be set-up and its fast getaway on any job, its tremendous
impressional strength, its hair-line register and smooth trouble-free operation. (Offset printing 4)