America has been around for quite a while, and the Printing Press has been around longer, so naturally these two share quite a bit of proud history. These American printing facts may surprise you.

• America’s first paper notes were 1-cent, 5-cent, 25-cent, and 50-cent denominations. They were issued in 1862 in order to help finance the Civil War.
• During the Civil War, some soldiers had access to small, portable printers that could be set up right on the battlefield!
• One of America’s Founding Fathers was a printer. Benjamin Franklin, age 22, had a print company that supplied copies of the Pennsylvania Gazette.
• Benjamin Franklin’s older brother, James Franklin, was a printer before Ben. James printed copies of the New England Courant. 
• Ben Franklin’s printing company was used to print all paper currency for both Pennsylvania and Delaware. Not only that, but it was Franklin’s printer that was selected to print documents from the Pennsylvania Assembly. Eventually, Franklin was appointed as Postmaster of Philadelphia.
• Over 12 million propaganda pamphlets were printed during WWII. These pamphlets were dropped over Germany to inspire American Soldiers, while simultaneously scaring the Nazis, and helped turn the tide of the war in America’s favor.
• In 2008, Congress enacted a law preventing the sale or even lending of children’s books printed before 1985. The reason? Some of these books were printed using lead paint that could lead to health problems. In order to be acceptable, the books had to take a lead test. Unfortunately, since the test is expensive, many books were discarded rather than tested.
• The world’s smallest printer is the PrintStik, which measures 2in x 2in x 11in and weighs just 1.5 pounds. It’s produced by the American manufacturer, Planon.

We hope you’ve enjoyed these American print facts! Ready to learn some printing facts from around the world?