During the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, printing technologies evolved rapidly. The steam-powered press was invented in Germany in the 19th century, and the rotary press, which prints images onto a continuous sheet of paper from a rotating drum, was introduced in the United States in 1846. The Linotype typesetting machine was patented by the German-born American inventor Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1884. It permitted typesetters to set text by typing on a keyboard rather than hand-setting each letter individually. Together, the Linotype machine and the rotary press transformed the speed of printing. These so-called hot-metal or letterpress printing technologies dominated the industry until the 1950s, when phototypesetting and photo-offset printing were introduced (see Typesetting Equipment).
Photocopying was another technology that made document duplication easier. Invented by American physicist and inventor Edwin Land in the 1950s, photocopying transfers an image from one sheet of paper to another very rapidly (see Office Systems). A more recent advance is computer typesetting and printing. Computers and word-processing and graphics software are used today to set type and compose pages on the screen just as they will look in the final print, in either black and white or color. Page layouts can also be transmitted digitally (numerically coded into electronic pulses) via fax machines, computer modems, telephone networks, and satellite systems to other locations for editing, redesign, or printing.
The spread of computer-based word processing and graphic design has led to the growth of desktop publishing. Today almost anyone can publish newsletters, newspapers, or magazines for medium-sized audiences. Business communication has been transformed by computer and information technologies: letters, memos, reports, or other documents can be transmitted almost anywhere at the speed of light. Early advocates of business computers predicted the paperless office, an office where paper would be made obsolete by computer technology. Experience, however, has shown that the ease of copying, printing, and document transmission made possible by computer technology has produced more demand for paper, not less.
Photocopying was another technology that made document duplication easier. Invented by American physicist and inventor Edwin Land in the 1950s, photocopying transfers an image from one sheet of paper to another very rapidly (see Office Systems). A more recent advance is computer typesetting and printing. Computers and word-processing and graphics software are used today to set type and compose pages on the screen just as they will look in the final print, in either black and white or color. Page layouts can also be transmitted digitally (numerically coded into electronic pulses) via fax machines, computer modems, telephone networks, and satellite systems to other locations for editing, redesign, or printing.
The spread of computer-based word processing and graphic design has led to the growth of desktop publishing. Today almost anyone can publish newsletters, newspapers, or magazines for medium-sized audiences. Business communication has been transformed by computer and information technologies: letters, memos, reports, or other documents can be transmitted almost anywhere at the speed of light. Early advocates of business computers predicted the paperless office, an office where paper would be made obsolete by computer technology. Experience, however, has shown that the ease of copying, printing, and document transmission made possible by computer technology has produced more demand for paper, not less.
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