Bringing the Future to You with Ink and Toner Suppliers in Johannesburg

During the pandemic, many of our homes became offices overnight. With a computer, a printer, and a cellphone all connected to the Internet, this was not too far out of the realm of possibility. Until very recently, however, working from a home office was simply not a reality. The luxury of being able to access the Internet and print information from anywhere in the world right here in Johannesburg is one which we largely take for granted. If you went back in time to the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918, trying to do certain types of work from home would have been a very different experience.

 

It Began with Print 

In 1918, you may have had a home telephone, but definitely not a computer. Most likely, people would have written to each other. Mercifully, there would have been a lot to read. You would have to go further back in time than 1918 to find the invention of print. Indeed, the first printed texts, as opposed to handwritten texts, were recorded in the first millennium AD in China.

The original process was to use hand-carved woodblocks in reverse. The first known printed book was a Buddhist text, printed in China around 868 AD. Metal block printing was also developed during that period. Later, between approximately 970 and 1051 AD, printing panel blocks were replaced by reusable individual letters.

In 1297, the first known mass-produced book was printed with a process devised using a revolving table of typesetters, which increased the speed and accuracy of the printing. It was only around 1440 in Strasbourg, France, that Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, started to experiment with a printing press. In 1450, he returned to Germany with a commercially ready press.
The Gutenberg Press, as it became known, made use of metal printing blocks with each letter. Gutenberg's press would not have worked so successfully, were it not for his invention of his own type of ink. Gutenberg’s ink was made so as to affix to metal, as opposed to wood. Ink and paper have always been important when it comes to printing. In 2021, in Johannesburg, South Africa, you do not have time to make your own printing press, let alone your own ink or toner.

 

How Does it Actually Work: Printers, Paper, Toner, and Ink

There are no levers, pulleys, or typesetters anymore. Basically, printers convert digital images and text into hard copy. This is made possible by a driver or software that converts the image so that the printer can read the information. The printer then recreates the image onto the page using tiny little dots.

Ink and toner are often referred to in the same way, but they perform differently. The most significant difference between toner and ink is that the former is in a powdered form and the latter is in a liquid form. Inkjet printers use ink cartridges and laser printers use laser cartridges. Whichever printer you have, you will need to replace your cartridges at some stage, and for that, you need suppliers.

 

Printing Suppliers in Johannesburg

In the first millennium China or 15th Century Europe, there were no printing suppliers and you had to make and do everything yourself. Thankfully, these days, there are dedicated printing suppliers like CH Africa in Johannesburg. CH Africa should be your first port of call for printing suppliers in Johannesburg. We have a comprehensive range of ink and toner cartridges and our expertise extends into the different types of printing technology. We are also suppliers of printers and computers. At CH Africa, we have bulk order discounts for businesses and government. You place your order from the comfort of your own home via our website. You are always welcome to visit us at our premises at 66 Watt Street, Meadowdale, Johannesburg.

So, now you know where to get ink and toner cartridges in Johannesburg. And you also know a bit about the history of printing. If you ever go back in time, you might at least be able to explain a bit of the future to those in the past. As for now, you do not need to remember all that information, because here at CH Africa, we have all the expertise you will need when it comes to your printing suppliers.
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