When was printing press introduced in india

Of late Guru Jhambeshwar University in Hissar, Haryana, is offering graduate and post-graduate courses. Although the progress has been substantial, when we take the overall picture of the publishing industry into consideration, it has not been uniform all over the country; in fact rather uneven in certain states. In the first three decades of , when independence movement was gathering momentum and so was publishing and distribution system of the printed word in the form of books, journals and newspapers and the clandestinely printed newsletters, in came the influx of various publishing houses involved with printing and publishing of textbooks for schools and colleges, religious books, books on literature, both oriental texts and newly penned books in various regional languages infused with national feelings.

Sri Saraswaty Press in Calcutta, established in , played a crucial role in the printing of underground publicity materials for the freedom movement. As the freedom struggle gained momentum between and , the Indian press kept pace with it and most of the English-language newspapers kept on updating and upgrading their plants in the areas of pre-press and printing. Most of these plants were equipped with linotypes, monotypes, big stereo-rotary presses, cameras and block-making units.

But the vernacular press could not keep pace with the English-language press due to unavailable financial resources and the British Raj imposed restrictions, and this imbalance is visible even today. So, the need of the time was quick and effective growth of the printing outfits all over the country, especially in major cities like Allahabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Jallandhar, Ludhiana, Lahore, Indore, Bareilly, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, and Delhi.

The printing industry in India is more than years old. Over the years, and more so during the last 50 years or so, it has grown steadily, keeping pace with the growth of information, education, communication and computers. Today, it serves as one of the major media of communication, perhaps even more so than radio, television, and other forms of communication. The industry comprises well over 58, establishments and it is involved in a number of activities, such as publication of newspapers, magazines, books, outdoor publicity materials.

The quality of printing on these machines was better than platen and stop-cylinder presses and this initiated textbook printing in India, at least for senior school level, in a very small way. As the freedom struggle kept pace with the repressive administration of the British Raj, the printing industry marched along in both sectors — private and government. Printing industry in India in was at its infancy, making hand-impression of the composed and engraved areas. The art of makeready of any printed area was not much known as the platen machines were being used in the first decade of Stop-cylinder machines were introduced by some printing houses in Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and Delhi, and later in the early s Miehle Presses, which were known as two-revolution presses, were introduced in India initially by government-run presses and then by commercial printing houses in major cities.

During the period , many small-time printers contributed in the printing of news bulletins, both in Hindi and Urdu and other regional languages. In Calcutta alone, Baptists claimed to have printed , school books in various regional languages by In , there was a sudden realization of the importance of the printed word for the urban common man.

Only print could help the exchange of ideas between different communities in the various parts of the country. The first three decades of were notable for the entrance of various publishing houses. They were involved in the printing and publication of textbooks for schools and colleges, religious books, books on literature, newly created books in various regional languages inspired by national sentiment.

Sri Saraswati Press in Calcutta, established in , performed a crucial role in the printing of hidden publicity materials for the freedom movement. As the freedom struggle gained momentum between and , the Indian press kept pace with it and most of the English-language newspapers kept on updating and upgrading their plants in the areas of pre-press and printing.

Most of these plants were provided with linotypes, monotypes, big stereo-rotary presses, cameras, and block-making units. But the vernacular press could not keep pace with the English-language press due to unavailable financial resources and the British Raj imposed restrictions. India was set up in at St. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter below and never miss the latest product or an exclusive offer. Skip to content. Indian History.

March 17, November 8, Priyanka Sharma. When and where was the first printing press established in India? What was the first printed Indian Language? When and who brought Printing Press to India?

Read in Hindi. November 8, October 30, Priyanka Sharma. November 5, October 29, Priyanka Sharma. It funded not just the acquisitions but also the museum site, a former veterinary college in South London. The Type Archive also raised funds from private sources and continues to run an active fund-raising campaign.

All over the world, printers have been active in protecting and sharing their print heritage in the 21st century. They could be ambitious projects conceived by print behemoths like Toppan of Japan that has been around for 20 years.

Or they could be small family-owned presses like the The Royal Press in Melaka, Malaysia showcasing local print heritage which opened in It could be a refurbisher of printing presses like the Howard Iron Works in Canada which reinvented itself in as a museum showcasing a wide collection of functioning printing technology.

In one word, dismal. The Odisha Printing Museum associated with the Government Press in Cuttack is perhaps the only museum in India that is exclusively devoted to printing and has a representative collection of machinery that covers all aspects of printing from the era of the letterpress to the era of phototypesetting. When the press was being modernised, the superintendent salvaged all the old machines instead of selling them as scrap. A dedicated building has been set aside for the museum, which was inaugurated in However, none of the machines are in working condition and its nothing more than a storehouse with potential to be a printing museum.

Christian missions were the major centres of print in the early days and introduced the art of printing to many areas in India.

At the Danish Mission at Tharangambadi or Tranquebar, a printing press was established by Bartholomew Ziegenbalg in with Tamil and Portuguese typefaces procured from Halle in Germany. In recent years, efforts have been made to recover the print heritage of these mission presses. The Ziegenbalg House , a year-old edifice at Tranquebar, has recently been renovated and efforts are being made to showcase the print heritage of the Mission. While much of the funding for the renovation was provided by the German Federal Foreign Office, donations were also received from local printers associations.

The Basel Mission initiated efforts to set up a printing museum in Mangalore in Though much of the physical infrastructure survives to this day at Serampore, a large part of the print heritage has been lost.

There is no permanent display of printing history. Some of the matrices for the typefaces designed for the Serampore Mission Press by Panchanan Karmakar and his son-in-law, Manohar Karmakar have been preserved by the family to this day and are occasionally lent to Serampore for exhibition.

Since most of the efforts that have been undertaken under the auspices of the mission presses are not led by experts or practitioners of the print industry or by print historians, the showcasing of the print heritage and technology has not reached the potential it could have. A few generalist museums in India have print-related exhibits. The Goa State Museum in Panaji has a section on printing history that aims to trace the five-centuries long history of printing in that state.

The museums in Pondicherry and Chandannagar, both of which were French possessions, have a token printing press on display. A lithographic stone here, a nineteenth century newspaper there, a few types that have been salvaged from the furnace, a sheaf of old printed material like labels and posters, is all that one can encounter in the few museums that are there in India.

Perhaps the largest collection of print machinery and memorabilia in India is in the hands of the members of the print fraternity. Thousands of printers, both large and small, across the length and breadth of India have saved, collected, or acquired items that take us back to the history of print. While some may have a handful of artefacts, there are others whose collection numbers in the hundreds. Many of these items are on display in their premises.

However, neither are these collections accessible to the general public nor have they been curated or contextualised. Nowhere is the story of print in India explored. Nowhere are the print practitioners of yesteryear celebrated. Nowhere are visitors able to understand the overarching role print plays in everyday life. Can we change this situation?

How should India go about developing printing museums? How many of them does India need? What kind of vision should they have? And where will they get their funds from? While these questions await answers, we can look at new museum initiatives in India for inspiration.

Then there are niche museums like Museo Camera which focuses on photography. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has unveiled plans to develop a museum for textile technology in Mumbai. Digital museums like Sarmaya are exploring new ways to interact with their audiences.

Who should take the lead for printing museums? Should we wait for the government?