Printing, or the mechanical reproduction of text, has a long history on the Iranian plateau. The Persian word for print—chāp—is derived from the Chinese chāv. It appears in the Persian language from the seventh/thirteenth century following the encounter with wood-block printing during the Īlkhānid period (654–754/1256–1353; Dihkhudā, 17:4; Floor; Farmayan, 145). Despite a relatively early awareness of print, the Persian manuscript tradition retained its status as the preferred method of textual reproduction until well …