In 1450, broadsheets were the newest form of media. They were large, thin pieces of paper that were used for printing paper media such as The Gutenberg Bible. Broadsheets were the main method of mass printing from 1450 to 1800, and were mainly used to print religious materials for Western European Colonies.

             Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutheran Church, used broadsheets to counter the word of the Catholic Church. The Catholics followed suit, and started to use broadsheets to create materials that were anti-Lutheran. Both churches were known to create anti-semetic propaganda with broadsheets. Later on in the 1700s, further development of printing technology allowed for etching on copper plates, which not only sped up the process, but also allowed for better quality prints. Etching technology allowed for artists to make high quality prints of their works, with many artists trying new styles of drawing and caricature.            

             Some artists used humor to make their prints stand out, including 18th century artist William Hogarth who was known for his sequential copper plate engravings, in which he mixed caricature and human comedy with moral message. Hogarth’s 1732 works A Harlot's Progress and Marriage A-La-Mode inspired many and are considered by some to be early examples of comics.              In America, political events and movements inspired cartoons such as Benjamin Franklin’s, Join or Die, a call to action for young men to join the armed forces. In parts of Europe, similar creations were being made. Francisco de Goya created large caricature works such as his tapestry cartoons (1775 - 1792) , and James Gillray made work such as John Bull’s Progress in 1793. These types of works were first named “comical cuts,” then given the name  “comicals," and then finally given the name we know and love today, the comics. 

             Rodolphe Töpffer, a teacher, author, and illustrator from Switzerland, created picture stories from 1827 to 1844. His name and creations are widely credited in the origins of comic art, as they share distinct characteristics with modern comics, sinistrodextral (left to right) reading format and textual elements under the illustrators. In 1820, lithography gained popularity as it allowed for even higher quality images and a more efficient method of printing. Lithography allowed Töpffer's picture stories and comics to be spread throughout Europe and America. Lithography also allowed 19th century artists such as Honoré Daumier to pit his famous caricature work into print. One of his most important works, a caricature of King Louis Phillipe, was created with a lithograph. This allowed the caricature to be reprinted into journals such as La Caicature.