Print technology transformed radically in the last century, driven by demands for speed, efficiency, and lower costs.

Changes and Causes: Early 20th-century mechanical letterpresses evolved to mid-century offset lithography for faster, higher-quality output. The late 20th-century digital revolution brought desktop publishing, eliminating manual steps. Digital printing and 'print-on-demand' made short-run production economically viable.

Consequences: Print materials became cheaper, more colourful, and widely available. Desktop publishing democratized content creation. However, the internet and e-books recently challenged physical print's dominance, shifting information consumption from physical objects to instant, global digital screens.