Whence
Printing press (movable-type press)
Invention

Where does Printing press (movable-type press) come from?

The printing press comes from the Rhine valley, where Johannes Gutenberg developed it in Strasbourg and his home city of Mainz around 1440. Movable type already existed in East Asia, but Gutenberg's press made it possible to print books quickly and in great numbers.

A secret project in Strasbourg

Gutenberg, a goldsmith from a patrician family of Mainz, is recorded in Strasbourg from 1434 to 1444. There he worked on a secret enterprise with partners. When one of them died, his heirs went to court in 1439, and the case revealed the project: witnesses spoke of a wooden press built by a carpenter, of type and type moulds, and of printing materials Gutenberg had bought as early as 1436. In Strasbourg in 1440 he is said to have perfected his invention.

Metal type, oily ink and a press

Gutenberg combined existing tools in a new way. He adapted the screw press, used since Roman times to press grapes for wine and olives for oil. He cast type from an alloy of lead, tin and antimony that melted easily and cooled fast, and used a thick oil-based ink that held well on metal type. Back in Mainz by 1448, he later borrowed 800 guilders from the financier Johann Fust, and in 1455 he completed his 42-line Bible, printed in about 180 copies.

Why people think of China

China did invent movable type: in the 11th century the artisan Bi Sheng made characters of baked clay, and around 1300 Wang Zhen printed with wooden type. The oldest surviving book printed with metal movable type is the Korean Jikji of 1377. But woodblock printing remained the main method in East Asia, partly because Chinese writing needs thousands of different characters. Gutenberg's press worked with the Latin alphabet's small set of letters, and by 1500 European presses had printed over 20 million copies.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org › Printing press ↗ · en.wikipedia.org › Johannes Gutenberg ↗ · britannica.com ↗

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