Methods to reproduce drawings had been devised well before printing appeared in history. Artistic and technical ideas of these methods must have contributed in significant ways to the invention of printing tech-nology. We can see this point from the close relationship between printing and techniques such as rubbing, stamping and inscription. Seals can be dated back to the Shang Dynasty 3,000 to 3,500 years ago; they were most popular during the Qin dynasty (221---06 B.C.) the advent of paper enabled people to ink the tablets and then press paper over it to "print" words. This method came rather close to printing as we know it today.

Inscriptions of Hot Spring (rubbing in early Tang Dynasty)

Given the existence of the four factors listed above, the rise of social demand for reproducing drawings and written texts would inevitably give birth to the invention of printing.

Seals from the Western Han Dynasty(206BC-AD8)	Sealing-clay