The spread of the printing throughout Scotland was gradual – St Andrews 1552; Stirling 1571; Aberdeen 1622, Glasgow 1638 and Leith 1651. You can look for other towns through the Spread of Printing in Scotland website.

Scotland’s printing industry, still centred largely in Edinburgh, entered a period of real progress during the latter part of the 18th century. The output of journals, books, newspapers and commercial print of all kinds increased following the introduction of iron presses and power-driven machinery in the 19th century. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the arrival of mechanical typesetting which together with photo-processing (involving cameras and screens), lithography and gravure provided the foundation of today’s printing industry.

You can download the story of the printing industry in some of Scotland’s larger cities through these links:

Edinburgh          Glasgow         Dundee & Perth          Aberdeen & Northern Counties

Scotland’s printing companies include many familiar names: Blackie & Co, W& R Chambers, Williams Collins, T & A Constables, Thomas Nelson and Valentines. Companies often produced printed brochures or company histories to mark important points in their history. Some of these have been scanned with the help of students in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders: if you have any information about current copyright holders for any of these items, please contact us.