The invention of the printing press changed the world enormously. It's genuinely changed the world in which we live, enabling rapid reproduction of written material. Prior to the use of the printing press, any copies of the original written work had to be duplicated by hand, requiring a great deal of time and patience for the single copy. Producing copies of a book in any quantity tended to be a lifetime’s work and even when copied they were limited to the social elite.

The intaglio printing press changed all of this. The Intaglio Press consists of a printing plate that can be used many times allowing numerous reproductions of the piece of work. Suddenly information only accessible to a select few was offered to the masses through the manufacture of countless copies with serious repercussions to public education and literacy. It was the reduction in time taken to reproduce literature that had the biggest impact, it also meant that official documents and important messages were spread far more efficiently. The invention of the print press has had one of the biggest impacts on everyday life.

It is partly due to the ease of use and its simplicity that has brought about the success of the intaglio printing press. To begin, a printing plate has to be created on which is etched or engraved the material being reproduced. Ink is applied to the printing plate, the ink is then wiped from the surface of the plate leaving the ink only inside the incisions. The paper is then applied under tremendous pressure to push it into the grooves, transferring the ink where it has made contact. The ink that is held in the grooves, transfers onto the paper as a result of the intaglio press process.

In modern times the process has evolved considerably but the basic principles of the intaglio printing press are still very much in use with the application of copper of zinc printing plates. Today the intaglio press is used frequently by the US treasury, for printing their paper currency. Generally speaking however the intaglio printing press is now used primarily in fine art applications, allowing top quality text or images to be reproduced in an artistic and attractive style.

The intaglio press is certainly an extraordinary invention that has revolutionised so many areas of the world that we are in and has allowed a great deal of progress. Written work was able to be reproduced quickly and in substantial quantities, which had a great positive impact on many areas from education and literacy to religion and science . Such printing methods are as relevant today as they were six hundred years ago and are set to be for the foreseeable future.