In England in 1875, Robert Barclay patented the first rotary offset lithographic printing press. This machine, which printed on tin, combined the technologies of mid-19th-century transfer printing technology and Hoe's 1843 rotary printing press.

When did offset printing begin?

It all started in 1875, when Robert Barclay of England patented the first rotary offset lithography printing press. Read the whole story of the origins of offset printing.

Who was the first printer to use offset?

The first printer in the history of offset printing to be credited with the use of offset in a professional capacity was Ira Washington Rubel. Rubel noticed that both sides of the paper were printed, one side from the plates and the other from the press blanket.