It is thought that early presses existed in China as far back as the 8th century, but Johannes Gutenburg is credited with inventing the printing press which was used in Europe in around 1440. German goldsmith Gutenburg developed hand-moulded metal printing matrices for his press, allowing moveable type print for rapid print production.
The Gutenberg Press
Gutenberg’s design crucially replaced wood that had been used in previous versions of the printing press with metal and printing blocks with each letter. This invention reduced the cost of printing in Europe quite dramatically, especially for small print runs. As books and other documents could now be printed quickly, the new printing press allowed news and ideas to be spread rapidly, revolutionising the print world and leading to the era of mass communication.
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What Is Moveable Type?
Moveable type print is a printing technology that uses moveable components to reproduce a document. Usually, this is letters, numbers and punctuation marks. The innovation behind Gutenberg’s invention was that it introduced the metal moveable type printing press to Europe using casting for the type pieces.
This was so important for European languages because of the smaller number of alphabetic characters needed, making moveable type quicker than woodblock printing. Metal type pieces were also more durable and allowed more uniform lettering, leading to typography and fonts.
How Did The Printing Press Change The World?
While the printing press can be described by the surface-level impact its invention had on mass communication and the rapid spread of information, it’s important to consider the larger significance it had on the world. There had never been a way to produce and distribute information on the same scale before, which lead to a rise in literacy and the types of information available to the wider population. The printing press was also a huge part of major reforms across the continent due to the spread of religious and scientific information. You can read more about the impact of the printing press here.
What Was The First Book Ever Printed On The Printing Press?
Johannes Gutenberg printed his Gutenberg Bible first, based on other versions that were in circulation at the time. This was one of the earliest major books to be mass-produced and this version would become the standard version used for bible texts afterwards. Due to the significance of this text, Gutenberg Bibles are worth an incredible amount. The last time one was sold it fetched $2.2million. It is estimated that today they would be worth 10 times that amount.
The History Of Printing
Since the early invention of the printing press, many print techniques and print technologies have evolved. From the introduction of lithography in 1796, the rotary press in 1843 and offset printing at the end of the 19th century, through to computerised digital printing.
The history of the printing press had international beginnings, and BBR Graphics pride ourselves on our high level of service supplying high quality printing presses to customers around the globe. We specialise in sourcing, refurbishing and supplying used presses to the printing industry with models from Heidelberg, Man Roland and Komori. For more information about us and the used printing presses available, please get in touch on 01924 263339.
