The Gutenberg Press | 1450 AD

What is Johannes Gutenberg credited with?
The printing press
How did the printing press work?
A hand press in which ink was written over the raised surface of movable hand set block letters held within a wooden form. The form was then pressed against a sheet of paper
What motivated Gutenberg to find a better way of creating books?
His love of reading and working in the mint
Why did Gutenberg experiment with metal type versus wood type?
Wood was not as durable

What is moveable type?
metal type, the system of printing that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document
What is a matrix?
A mold that creates a letter in a book
What ink did Gutenberg develop that he used specifically for the printing press?
An oil based ink
What is paper made from? Where did paper originate?
Wood pulp and china
What is a "substrate"?
The base material that images were printed onto
Who did Gutenberg seek to help with the invention of the press? Close to the end of the 5 years, what happened?
Fust and gutenberg was sued by fust and had to give him all of his materials and books he had produced
What was the first book he printed?Bible.

How did the Gutenberg Press impact communication?
perfected script, books were made more rapidly, current information could be shared locally and around the world, the cost of books decreased, the population became more litterate, etc.
Who introduced the printing press to England?
William Caxton
What was the early form of newspapers?
Trade news letters
When was the first news weekly published? What was it called?
1704, the boston letter
What kind of press was built in the US in the mid 1800s?
the steam powered rotary press
By the late 1930s, presses had increased in efficiency and were capable of 2,500 to 3,500 impressions per hour. What is meant by "impression"?
The type is put on the page
Which printing process is the Gutenberg press an example of? Briefly describe the process?
Releif printing, movable type is placed onto the press. Ink is spread onto to the type. Papaer is placed on top. The press applies pressure to transfer the ink onto the press.
What is intaglio printing and how is ink transferred?
A way of printing and the image area is etched into the plate surface to hold the ink.
What is porous printing and how is ink transferred?
A basic stencil process, and ink is forced through open mesh in areas.





What is lithography and how is ink transferred?
planograpy, and it is forced into designs by water
What variation of lithography is used by the commercial printing industry today?
Offset lithograpy
How do printing presses used today compare to the Gutenberg Press?
They are far more advanced and able to do much more faster
Describe four-color process printing using CMYK?
Cyan, magenta, yellow, black

The Codex and the Illuminated Manuscript | 1st century AD

What were the drawbacks of the scroll?
The reader must read the text in the order it was written. Post an example of a codex.

What is a codex?
A covered and bound collection of hand written pages.
"Codex" is derived from the Latin meaning "block of wood". Why?

What is the difference between "sequential access" and "random access"?
In random access one can go to any point to find information in sequential access one has to go in order.
What were the advantages of using the codex?
It had random access and was more portable along with being easier to use in organizing libraries because the title could be written on the spine.
What helped spread the use of the codex?
The rise of christianity
What replaced papyrus? Describe the process used to create it?
Parchment paper, hair and fat was removed and skin was smoothed out, it was then soaked in water, calcium, flour and salt were added, and lastly the skin was stretched out, flattened and dried.
What is vellum?
A finer quality parchment
Name several examples of current technology that utilizes the format of the codex?
New technology like the kindle mimic the experience of reading a book even though it is an electronic.
What led to a period of cultural and economical deterioration?
The decline of the roman empire 

Who began creating books by hand, taking the creation to an art form?
Monks
What does "illumination" refer to? What was included in this ornamentation?
The borders, illistrations, and ornamentation added to each page, intials of chapeters, and paintings in the margins of the page
What tool was used for creating the illuminated manuscripts?
Natural quill pens
Why were these manuscripts reserved for religious purposes?
The work was extremely laborous
What is craftsmanship? Why is it important?
Skill in an ocupation or trade, and it is important becuase it gives us great works of art like the illuminated manuscripts

Assignment #15 Research and Inspiration

Research
Illuminated Manuscript: an extremely decorative book created by monks. Mostly used for religious  purposes.

Inspiration
ornate
pretty
attention grabbing
Who is the target audience?
My teacher
What are you trying to communicate?
A large starting letter and a decorative border

I like the starting letter and the colors used. It has a very appealing complex border.

I like the 3D effect the bottom of the page has and the extremely decorative border.

I like the fancy swirls around the I.

















the poca dot background works well with the swirls that work well with the A.

The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?
A variant of the greek alphabetWhat were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?
Formal was used for important manuscripts and official documents, informal was used for quicker and routine writing. 
Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?
It created serifs and instituted a baseline, it is easiest to use. 
From where did serifs originate?
With the carving of words into stone
When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?
They developed with the roman alphabet. 
What is a ligature and why were they utilized?
A ligature joins two letters and they are utilized in script. 

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?
The phoenicians regularly traveled to greece and established trade agreements with them.
How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?
The greek alphabet had vowels and additional letters.
Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?
It gave rise to many other alphabets including the latin alphabet.
Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?It has both consonants and vowels, the letters are made up of lines and they make words and sounds. 

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?
That one sign represents one spoken sound
Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?
Angular and straight, created by a stylus
What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?
It was easier to learn than cuneiform or hieroglyphics and the trading culture of the phoenician merchants spread the use of the alphabet into parts of north africa and europe.
What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?
It disintegrated class divisions between royalty and the common people. 

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt? 
Persians, greeks, and romans 

What was discovered on the inside of the temples?
Carved and painted images on every wall and surface
Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?
Cuneiform 
What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?
Alphabetic came later
The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?
Hiero and glyphic
What is a scribe? 
A person that is able to read and write
Who else was trained to read and write? Why? 
Military leaders so they could communicate while in battle. 

What is papyrus and how was it made?
It is a substrate made from reeds native to egypt. Wet reeds are placed criss cross over each other then flattened and left to dry. They are then rubbed with flat stones until the surface becomes smooth.
What is a substrate?
Something on which some process occurs or a material from which and organism lives.
What were the Books of the Dead?
Instructions and spells to help them find their way to the afterlife.
How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?
Over time people who could read and write the language disappeared until there was no one left who knew how to decipher the ancient language.  

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?
It is a slab with inscriptions on it, found near a fort in rosetta.
What three languages are included on the stone?
Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic, and greek
Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?
A chunk of the stone was missing so none of the three texts were complete
Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?
Champollion, he was able to mach up the hieroglyphics symbols with the greek version of he name "Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses".
Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?



It allowed us to learn a great deal about egyptian culture.