Andrew Kelly Pty Ltd
Print Media in Yarra

Traditionally, a book is a compilation of related ideas recorded in writing or images, usually on paper, with one edge of each page bound together into a single volume. In the new world, the term book has reach to be impaired for digital collections of data that were once available only as physical volumes. Scrolls are considered the first major precursor to traditionally formatted books, and they continued to be the dominant temperate for writing until the 3rd century A.D. Behind the Egyptians originated the format, it was later adopted by most other civilizations, including the Greeks, Romans and Chinese. It was first developed by the Romans, and it gradually replaced the scroll. As the Roman Empire declined in the 5th century A.D. the writing of books became a duty adopted by Christian monks. Benedict promoted reading and literature, and his influence made reading and writing an integral aspect of monastic life. Books were written and copied by hand in the premature monasteries, making them scanty and expensive. The specialties surrounding the printing of books that emerged in the Middle Ages include the following: This made the books solid to read for Irish monks who were not as familiar with Latin. Later, when book production was carried out by secular guilds rather than monasteries, this became the primary system for producing books. An image of a book page could be engraved in a wood block. Ink was then applied and the image was transferred to papyrus, parchment or textiles. While woodblocks were commonly old in Asia, they did not catch on in Europe where books were primarily handwritten until around the year 1500. The way books were produced changed forever in 1450 when Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press that used movable type. Portable type allowed the operator to change what could be printed by arranging individual letters in the press, making it easier and less expensive to print books. It is said that in the 50 years after the invention of portable type, more books were produced than in all of history before that time. For 450 years after Gutenberg invented the printing press, book publishing had changed very little, except for advances in typesetting and automation. The type was arranged, ink was spread on the type and paper was pressed against it. In offset lithography, an image of a page is transferred to a metal plate through a photographic or digital process. In sheet fed lithographs, four book pages are printed on a single sheet, two on one side and two on the other. Many fresh hardback books are also bound primarily with glue, but the pages of higher quality books may be drilled and stitched. Recently, digital processes have begun to be incorporated in book manufacturing. Online booksellers produced some of the beginning book readers, which were later joined by readers manufactured by major electronics companies. Nonfictional books are informational in nature and include reference books, such as almanacs, dictionaries and atlases.