Printing refers to various processes used for applying text and/or images to paper or other materials, such as textiles or parchment. The two principle methods of printing are #Woodblock printing and movable type printing (that is, the printing press).
Since the time of Connor and Brigid, writing and drawing has been done by using a stylus (usually made of wood) to apply dyes and inks to parchment (made from the skin of curlycoats). Around the end of the first decade of the second century, the Land's first nib pens were created by Drahkma, based on a suggestion by Isaac, though these would not come into wide use until at least LY 170, after the invention of paper, which replaced parchment. After the discovery of striders in LY 150, their tail hair was used to make brushes, at first for painting houses or wagons, though later painting was also done on canvases for artistic purposes. However, none of this writing, drawing, or painting can be considered printing, as the results were always entirely unique. Printing technically refers to any process which can be used to produce multiple prints which are virtually identical to each other.
Coin casting[]
The earliest form of printing was done starting in LY 103, when Drahkma created molds for the creation of coins.
Woodblock printing[]
This was first done around LY 180. A block of wood is cut into a relief, which means that the areas not intended to print an image are cut away, so as to leave that part of the paper untouched. The raised (or uncut) portion of the block would be dipped in ink and then pressed onto paper. Since the block could be used repeatedly, a single picture could be printed many times, rather than being painted or drawn only once, as done by hand. However, a great deal of time and precision must go into the carving of a wood block, which means that in the short run, it takes longer to produce printed pictures than it does to produce pictures using a brush. In the long run, however, woodblocks are more efficient.
Printing press[]
This is a machine invented in 390, by Talon of Pritt. The method he devised is known as "movable type printing," as it utilizes separate metal tiles which have been cast with all the different letters of the alphabet in relief. These tiles may then be arranged in a frame which holds them all the proper order. The titles are then inked, and pressed onto a sheet of paper. While it takes longer to assemble the tiles than it does to write a page by hand, once the page's frame has been set up, it can be reproduced far more quickly than by hand.
Mixed media[]
While the earliest printing press was used merely for text, more advanced machines were developed in 505 by a publishing company in Plist, called Board Books. These newer machines can print both text and images (the latter of which still generally use woodblocks which have been fitted for the press). This has led to the distribution not only of books (some of which contain pictures in addition to text), but also newspapers, magazines, and graphic novels.
Spell devices[]
In 912, a spell device called a "camera" was invented (similar to the Terran technology of the same name, but magical in nature), which users could submit to printers to connect to printing presses, to print off still pictures (similar to Terran "photographs"). This reduced the work done by illustrators and carvers, though some uses were still found for woodblock printing.
In 913, another spell device, called a "typewriter" (again, similar to the Terran device, but magical), which replaced pen and paper for use by writers.