Industrial Printer Edward Arnott Clowes Provides an Historical Review & Analysis of Developments in Printing Machinery

1887

In 1877 industrial printer Edward Arnott Clowes, grandson of machine printing pioneer William Clowes, published a lengthy paper entitled "Printing Machinery" in the Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 89, 242-284  This paper provided the best analysis that I have seen of the developments that had occurred in printing machines since their invention by Friedrich Koenig up to the time of writing. At the end of his paper Clowes provided four tables:

Table I: Speed

Table II: Processes involved in Printing a Single Side of a Sheet of Paper

Table III: Chronological Synopsis

A. Hand-Presses

B. Machines

        I. Single Machines, printing one side only.

       II.  Perfecting-Machines

      III.  Platen Machines

       IV.  Rotary Machines

In addition to this "insider" analysis, the "Discussion" of Mr. Clowes' paper that was published after it included the comments of numerous other figures significant in the development of the technology including, Julian Hill, nephew of Sir Rowland Hill, J. Murdoch Napier, son of David Napier, William Blades, and E. A. Cowper, son of Edward Cowper.

 

 

Timeline Themes