10 Mind-Blowing Print Facts!

Printing is a fascinating industry with a long history that has transformed how we communicate and consume information. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid-15th century. This invention enabled the mass production of books and other printed materials, making information more widely available to the general public. Before the printing press, books had to be handwritten, which was a time-consuming and costly process. The printing press revolutionised knowledge dissemination and is widely regarded as one of the most significant inventions in human history.

Printing continues to play an important role in our lives today. In this blog post, we’ll look at some more interesting word print facts that you may not be aware of.

1. The world’s smallest book is called Teeny Red from Turnip Town measuring just 70 micrometres by 100 micrometres. Learn more details on Guinness World Records.

2. The Bay Psalm Book, printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the first book printed in America. Only 11 copies of the book remain.

3. The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s was the first comic book to be published in 1896. (Image from Wikipedia)

   

4. Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine researchers created the first 3D printed organ in 2013 which was a human ear using living cells. Read about how it started here.

5. Xerox introduced the first colour photocopier in 1968. It was known as the 914, and it could produce 100 copies per minute. History and more about the product can be found on Xerox Nostalgia.

   

6. The term “print” is derived from the Old French word “preinte,” which means “impression” or “imprint.”

7. The Times of India is the most widely circulated printed newspaper, with a daily circulation of over 4.5 million copies.

8. China has the world’s largest print market, with over 1.7 trillion pages printed each year. Books, magazines, and other printed materials are included.

9. In the first century AD, a Roman chef named Marcus Gavius Apicius wrote the world’s first printed cookbook. Over 400 recipes were included in the book, De Re Coquinaria (On the Subject of Cooking).

10. In the early 1900s, the world’s first printed T-shirt was created. The Cooper Underwear Company created it, and it featured a cartoon character named Buster Brown. Did you know we print custom T-shirts?