Affordability, or the 100-times-faster rule

Imagine the Medieval scribe, writing letter after letter in the scriptorium. The core technology – quill, water-based ink, and parchment – is simple, but the process is really slow. It takes about two months to copy a book; and copying is done by skillful, lifetime-dedicated masters, under strict supervision.

Enter Gutenberg. A trio of press operators (pressmen) could print a book in two hours, using the following process: the first operator spreads the type with ink, using two ink-soaked pads; the second lays paper on the type tray, and the third pushes the tray into the press. Then operates [1. maneuvers?] the tray with the second pressman. Then the third operator pulls the tray out, while the second one peels the paper off. No part of the process requires lifelong dedication... This process printed approximately three pages per minute, about 600 times faster than a scribe. But, just as significant as the increase in speed is the decrease in required skill.

Some detailed historical analysis reveals a general observation, where true technical revolutions typically include:

• A 100 times (at least) acceleration in current technologies' bottlenecks
• Dramatic reduction in the operational skills involved

The next true revolution in printing technology happened in the 19th century, while in the 350 first years after Gutenberg the main improvements were gradual, many times sacrificing quality for speed.

With Gutenberg's printing method, the most respected printing craftsmen were those who arranged the type. Here, speed and skill combined to give the best-looking printed result. Type composing was the real bottleneck. By the late 1700's, it still took approximately one day to compose a page. Additionally, linear printing speed was limited by the flat-bed, sheet-fed process, to a few hundred sheets per hour. A major technology shift was required.

The first of the two changes was the introduction of the composing machine. Instead of casting and setting each letter by hand, sophisticated machines, operated by relatively low-skilled operators, could arrange thousands of characters per hour. This is a perfect example of increasing accessibility, where skill is replaced by automation.

<><><><><><> <> <><><><> <><> <> <><><><> <><> <>

An early type-composing machine, able to set up to 6000 characters per hour

The second change was the rotary press. The top speed with the stationary type bed was limited to 4,000 impression per hour – not a revolutionary change; but with the rotary press, 20,000 impressions per hour were achieved as early as 1851. Naturally, the energy source was steam, not manual.

The combination of the two changes detailed above brought the printing of text to today's rates, more than 100x-combined-acceleration on the previous bottlenecks. Just as Gutenberg's invention was the source of important economic and social change, so was this change, enabling modern newspapers, essential for popular Democratic modern states.

In the next post, we will describe the 100x-acceleration in folding cartons, at the end of the 19th century.