618 to 906: Tang Dynasty — the first printing is done in China using ink on carved wooden blocks begins to make multiple transfers of an image to paper.
868: The world’s first known printed book, a Diamond Sutra, is commissioned by a Buddhist monk in honor of his parents.
1241: Korea prints books using movable type.
1300: The first use of wooden type in China.
1309: Papermaking arrives in Europe. China and Egypt had been making paper and papyrus in previous centuries.
1338: First papermill opens in France
1390: First papermill opens in Germany.
1392: Foundries that can produce bronze type are opened in Korea
1423: Block printing is used to print books in Europe
1425: Packs of tarot playing cards are among the most popular products of Europe’s first printing presses.
1452: The first time metal plates are used for printing in Europe. Johannes Gutenberg begins printing the Bible, which he finishes in 1456.
1457: First color printing by Fust and Schoeffer.
1465: Drypoint engravings invented by Germans.
1476: William Caxton begins using a Gutenberg printing press in England.
1477: Intaglio is first used for book illustration for a Flemish book called Il Monte Sancto di Dio.
1495: First papermill opens in England.
1501: Italic type is first used.
1520: Europe’s new printing presses make possible the first pamphlet war, spreading instant arguments for and against the Reformation.
1550: Wallpaper is introduced in Europe.
1605: First weekly newspaper published in Antwerp.
1611: King James Bible published.
1660: Mezzotint invented in Germany.
1691: First papermill opens in the American colonies.
1702: Multi-colored engraving is invented by German Jakob Le Blon. The first English language daily newspaper is published called the Daily Courant.
1725: In Scotland stereotyping is invented by William Ged.
1800: The Iron printing presses are invented.
1819: The Rotary printing press is invented by Napier.
1829: Embossed printing is invented by Louis Braille.
1841: Type-composing machine is invented.
1844: Electrotyping is invented.
1846: Richard Hoe invents a Cylinder press. Hoe’s cylinder press can print 8,000 sheets an hour.
1863: William Bullock invents the rotary web-fed letterpress.
1865: Web offset press can print on both sides of paper at once.
1886: Linotype composing machine is invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler.
1870: Paper is now mass-manufactured from wood pulp.
1878: Photogravure printing is invented by Karl Klic.
1890: Mimeograph machine introduced.
1891: Printing presses can now print and fold 90,000 4-page papers an hour. Diazotype is invented, which can print photographs on fabric.
1892: The four-color rotary press invented.
1904: Offset lithography becomes common. The first comic book is published.
1907: Commercial silk screening invented.
1933: A war breaks out between the newspaper and radio industries. American newspapers try to force the Associated Press to terminate news service to radio stations.
1947: Phototypesetting made practical
1954: There are more radios than there are daily newspapers.
1955: Teletypesetting is used for newspapers.
1967: Newspapers use digital production processes and began using computers for operations.
1971: Use of offset presses becomes common.
1977: First public access to archives offered by Toronto Globe and Mail.
2007: There are now 1,456 daily newspapers in the United States alone, selling 55 million copies a day.
2009: The was the worst year in decades as far as advertising revenues for newspapers.
Today, newspapers continue to move into online internet versions.