How have advances in printing technology contributed to our society as a means of communication?

The answer may lie in the Printing Museum, Tokyo.

As the visitor steps inside the museum, the story of printing -- incorporating the past, present and future -- in Japan and the rest of the world begins to unfold.

The museum is in the basement of the nation's top printing house, Toppan Printing Co., in Bunkyo Ward. The firm opened the museum in October 2000 to commemorate the company's 100th anniversary.

"The museum aims to raise people's overall understanding of printing culture and history," said curator Izumi Munemura, head of the museum's planning section.

While Toppan operates the museum, it does not use the venue as a means of promoting its corporate image.

The museum takes a range of approaches to make it easy for visitors to get to the heart of the history of printing and to understand its technology.

Next to the entrance is the Prologue Exhibition section, which is one of four divisions, along with the Temporary Exhibition, General Exhibition and Printing Workshop.

The first section displays many replicas of visual media along a 40-meter-long wall, displaying in chronological order the primitive stages of communications, such as wall paintings and hieroglyphics, to the digital communications devices of the modern era.

"In this introductory space, we let visitors actually touch the displays to get them in the mood to proceed to the next stage," said Masami Obara, in charge of public relations at the museum.

Next is the Temporary Exhibition area, which holds special displays two or three times a year.

One of its most popular temporary exhibitions, which ends Sunday, displays 34 manuscripts of the Holy Bible, including 22 on loan from the Vatican, some more than 500 years old. The exhibition attracted some 17,000 visitors over the past three months.

There will be no new special exhibition until early September, with the General Exhibition zone expanding to fill up the vacant area until then.

This section has a chronological display divided into five blocks, each with several computer screens to explain in detail the history, equipment and procedures of printing.

Especially noteworthy is a Japanese cultural asset displayed in the second block -- the nation's first copper printing type, dating back to the 1606-1616 beginning of the Edo Period.

In the Printing Workshop section, an area surrounded by glass walls allows visitors to actually experience printing through the ages.

"As technology advances, old printing methods fade away, so we wanted to preserve them," Obara said.

"Every section is full of interesting things, so it is impossible to take in all of the displays in one visit," a 35-year-old female visitor said.

At least five hours would be necessary to thoroughly explore the museum, she said, adding that she plans to come back to learn more about the printing world.