Ink printing: the invisible pusher of civilized communication
2025,06,21
In the long river of human civilization development, ink printing is like a silent lightning, illuminating the road of knowledge dissemination. This technology of transferring words and images to the substrate through ink has been closely linked with the progress of human civilization since its birth. From the ancient block printing in the east to the movable type revolution in Gutenberg in the west, ink printing has been evolving and has become an important force to push mankind out of the ignorance era.
Modern ink printing technology has developed four printing systems: lithography, intaglio, relief and hole printing. Lithographic printing uses the principle of oil-water repulsion to form a graphic area on the smooth surface of the printing plate; Gravure printing presents a hierarchy through the amount of ink carried by the mesh holes with different depths; Letterpress printing makes the graphic part protrude to receive ink; While stencil printing allows ink to penetrate through screen hollowing. Each process has precise control requirements on ink viscosity, dryness, adhesion and other characteristics, which reflects human's profound understanding and control ability on material characteristics. The cultural influence of ink printing far exceeds the technology itself. In the fifteenth century, the printing revolution in Europe broke the monopoly of knowledge and directly gave birth to the religious reform and scientific revolution. In China, printing made the Confucian classics widely spread and shaped the spiritual core of East Asian cultural circle. Today, despite the rise of digital media, ink printed matter still occupies a special position with its unique texture, realism and sense of ceremony. From exquisite art albums to daily commodity packaging, printed matter continues to enrich human material and spiritual life. Looking back at the new technological transformation node, ink printing is not only the process of information reproduction, but also the carrier of civilization inheritance. In the digital torrent, the material traces left by ink remind us that the real progress of civilization lies not in the change of technology, but in how to spread ideas and connect hearts with technology. The history of ink printing is essentially a history of human's struggle for knowledge sharing and civilized dialogue.
