| 3500-2500 B.C. |
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Pictographic writing, in which simple pictures represent objects, and actions develops in the Middle East. |
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| circa 3100 B.C. |
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Egyptians begin hieroglyphic writing, which they continue to use for more than 3,000 years. |
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| circa 2360 B.C. |
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Babylonians create cuneiform symbols, which they write on clay tablets. |
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| circa 2000 B.C. |
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Sheets of papyrus are developed from the Egyptian papyrus plant. Writing is done with a brushlike reed. The sheets are then rolled into scrolls. |
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| 300 B.C. |
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Mesoamericans create scrolls on bark paper. |
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| 200s B.C. |
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Parchment, a writing surface made from animal skin, comes into use. The split pen is developed as a writing instrument. |
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| 105 A.D. |
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Paper is invented in China by Ts'ai Lun. |
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| 200s |
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Romans replace the long scroll format with the codex, in which the scrolls have been cut into pages, creating the first books. |
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| circa 400 |
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The Chinese start writing with ink. |
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| 700s |
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The Chinese start printing with woodblocks. |
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| 800s |
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Carolingian scribes begin leaving spaces between words to make reading easier. |
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| 868 |
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The earliest certain date of the printing of an entire book, "The Diamond Sutra," in China, by Wang Jie. |
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| 1150 |
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The invention of paper first reaches Europe, in Spain. |
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| 1200s |
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The Koreans begin experimenting with movable type. |
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| 1300s |
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Book-making guilds thrive. |
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| 1390 |
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The first European paper mill is established in what will later become Germany. |
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| circa 1398 |
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Johannes Gensfleisch, or Gutenberg, is born at Mainz. |
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| 1456 |
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Gutenberg's 42-line Bible is finished. |
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| 1475 |
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The first printed book in English, "The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye," is produced by William Caslon with Colard Mansion. |
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| 1500 |
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More than 1,000 printers are active in Europe. |
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| Early 1500's |
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The Italian printer Aldus Manutius creates a standard mixing typefaces and for including illustrations on the printed page. |
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| 1539 |
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The first book is printed in the Americas, in Mexico City. |
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| 1663 |
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The first Bible is printed in the American colonies by Samuel Green. |
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| 1700s |
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English typefounders William Caslon and John Baskerville develop new standard type fonts. |
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| 1818 |
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K& B develop "double press" for printing on both sides. |
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| 1820s |
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Joseph Nicephore Niepce develops photosensitivity — photography — photogravure |
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| 1822 |
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A machine for casting fonts is introduced in English. |
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| 1844 |
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New York inventor Richard Hoe develops continuous revolving press. |
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| 1868 |
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The monotype machine is patented. It combines a typewriter-like keyboard with a type casting unit to create individual letters at a stroke of a finger. |
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| 1886 |
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The Linotype machine begins setting complete lines of "hot" type automatically in single pieces of cast lead. |
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| Late 1800s |
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More efficient presses are developed, including self-inking capabilities and some motorization. |
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| 1904 |
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Ira Rubel constructs first 3 cylinder "offset press" |
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| 1950s |
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Phototypesetting is introduced. "Cold" type replaces "hot" type in many situations as columns of type are reproduced on photosensitive paper instead of being cast in lead. |
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| 1960s |
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First lithographic rotary offset press used for newspapers in U.S. |
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| 1980s |
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Computerized typesetting is created, storing text and illustrations on a computer disk. |
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