Topkapı Printing Service
Our Place in the History of Printing
Printing, invented in 1450 by the German scientist Johan Gutenberg, has been finalized over time with countless research and development techniques. It still serves humanity with new technologies. Printing, the process of printing various shapes, texts, and graphics on papers of different sizes, was introduced to our country during the Ottoman Empire in 1774 by İbrahim Müteferrika as Topkapı printing service. In those days, due to the prevalence of calligraphy and engraving arts in our country, printing did not receive much attention and sometimes remained in the background, but it developed as technology advanced and we adapted to the West. Printing methods increased, and printing masters began to emerge. In the first printing press developed by Johan Gutenberg, wooden molds were written by master craftsmen and engraved by engravers and etchers. The prepared molds were attached to machines, and after the necessary inks were applied, they were printed on papyri and papers made of different materials and in different sizes. The most commonly used paper was straw paper, and the inks used varied according to the purpose of the product to be printed and the target audience.