Introduction

From the mid-seventeenth century until 1800, print production of all kinds increased in scale and improved in quality, although the technologies in use remained fundamentally the same throughout the period, particularly as regards the production of text. In addition, the methods and technologies of newspaper production were identical to those of other sectors of letterpress printing – the same materials, machines and, usually, personnel were used for the production of newspapers, books and the small commercial ‘jobs’ that kept the presses busy in the absence of larger-scale works. Restrictions were maintained by the various jurisdictions across the British Isles, all of which were aimed at controlling both the number of printing offices and apprentice numbers in them. However, working practices and printing-office culture were similar throughout Britain. Although the technologies of text-based print production changed little between the mid-seventeenth century and the start of the nineteenth century, the quality of printing did improve, driven by developments in the production of books. However, as the printing of newspapers and periodicals was done on the same equipment by the same workers, the two sectors were intimately connected. The quality of the type in use improved: restrictions on type production lapsed along with those on printing, leading to the establishment of more type foundries. The scale of the paper-making industry, and to a lesser extent that of ink manufacture, also expanded in order to supply the needs of the print trade.

This chapter covers the technologies of printing including the development of the supply trades (type, paper and ink) and the distribution of print. It will also consider the organisation of work in the print shop and the early growth of trade associations throughout the British Isles, particularly among operative printers. These organisations included the ‘chapel’ which governed the work in the print shop, and wider groups, known as typographical societies, established as welfare organ-isations in a number of printing centres by 1800. They also undertook the function of collective bargaining with employers over wages on an ad hoc basis.

Printing Presses

In 1640 letterpress printing offices were substantially the same as those that had been in use since the fifteenth century.