Literally, leaving a mark is called printing, and applying ink is called brushing. Using a brush to apply ink to other objects and leave a mark is called printing. In short, printing is the industry of producing printed materials. The production of printed materials is similar to the process of stamping. First, a stamp (plate) is carved, then ink is applied to the stamp (plate), and finally, the ink is transferred to a substrate such as paper, silk, or leather, thus creating a printed product.
(Image of bark cloth printing)
From a scientific perspective, any mark left on an object (narrowly defined, specifically on paper), where that mark (after being reproduced in large quantities) reflects or absorbs light, and is perceived by the human eye through the optic nerve, is called printing.
From a cultural perspective, printing is a method of expressing and disseminating human thought. In ancient China, printing involved applying ink to a printing plate with a brush, placing paper on top, and then lightly brushing the back of the paper with another dry brush. The raised, reversed characters on the plate were then transferred to the paper as forward-facing characters. Because each brush stroke produced a print, it was called printing.
Generally speaking, printing is an industrial process that uses direct or indirect methods to create a printing plate from an original image or text, applies ink to the plate, and then applies pressure to transfer the ink to paper or other printing substrates for rapid, mass reproduction.
