The double invention of printing

The absence of a proper study of lithography and offset printing has rendered unreliable the print historian's capacity to chart our new technological landscape. Authors who have shaped our thinking in regard to printing have mostly formed their views by studying letterpress printing. They have largely ignored newer processes. Now, as 'lithographic' methods are in their turn becoming outmoded, George Sarton's assertion that the 'double invention' of printing made a significant impact on Western science may be useful in explaining the complicated nature of print. Adopting Sarton's idea, it is easy to see how this dual system of printing was successfully transformed by Senefelder's invention into an integrated method of information transfer. Lithography displaced engraving where it was quicker or more effective, and recent journal articles suggest that much scientific illustration of this kind remains unexamined. Other solid evidence published so far points to the use of lithography in printing maps and official instruction manuals. The less formal nature of lithographic layout and composition also points to the development of modern newspaper illustration. Lithography's flexibility has implications for the study of graphic design and it may provide a fresh context to our understanding of the syntax of imagery in all new media