The Printing Press
History
Before the invention of the printing press, scribes centred in monasteries hand copied out each book.
In the 1400’s the authorities ordered two hundred heretical writings to be burned, at the height of the Hussite crisis. Two hundred works during that time were incredibly difficult to replace because of the process that was involved in creating a piece of literature. While being time consuming, the majority of scribes worked for the Church.
Before the printing press was created, books were “block-printed”. This means that lettering and pictures were carved into a block of wood before being inked and pressed to paper. This process took a lot of time and became an expensive process, because each phrase or word would be carved onto a separate block.
Printing Press Process
The idea of making rag paper came from the Chinese, who had been making paper from water and rags for centuries, and who adopted the process from the Arabs. The squeeze press, which was used to pressing the rags into paper, was also used to evenly press print onto paper.
Johannes Gutenberg created durable metal type by using a mixture of lead, antimony, and tin that was durable, could hold dye, and would be able to melt at a low temperature. For each letter, the mirror image was carved into a small block. Individual letters would then be put together to form words and separated to create lines or pages of type. This enabled him to use the same letters in different combinations over and over again to create a range of text.
Gutenberg was also credited with combining his own movable type, along with oil based inks, rag paper, and the squeeze press into the printing press. Before Gutenberg created his version, however, China had their own form of a printing press centuries earlier, as well as a Dutchman who created his own years before Gutenberg.
Gutenberg never profited from the press, and worked with borrowed money.
In 1452, Johannes Gutenberg began his Bible project, printing two hundred copies of the expensive and beautiful Bibles, fifty of which are still around today.
Impact of the Printing Press
The goal of the printing press was to cut down on the cost of books and to increase book production. The printing press made a vast amount of information more accessible, and helped to spread information quickly and efficiently. The printing press also ensured that nothing was “lost in translation”, because it took away the possibility of changing the text as scholars were able to do with hand copying.
Though the first books printed using the press were religious and the type used imitated handwritten fonts, mainly to help people accept this form of printing books, the invention of the printing press led to a wider variety of books on non-religious topics to be printed.
By 1482 the printing press had spread across Europe, with approximately one hundred presses in different cities in Western Europe. With the spread of the printing press came the idea to print smaller books that were cheaper, as opposed to the large Bibles that were generally printed.
The printing press helped to spread information more accurately and at a more efficient pace, as well as meeting the demand for a less-costly way to produce books.
With the innovation of the printing press came more secular books being printed, now that it was no longer church scribes copying each piece of literature. Scientists were able to do the same work in different areas and share their findings accurately with other scientists, so that they could further their own research. This helped lead to the Scientific Revolution.
The printing press made it more difficult for the Church to sensor what was being printed and distributed. This led to Europe’s divide during the Protestant Reformation.
Any changes in the printing press between its invention and the 1800s were minimal, until 1814 when rotary steam presses replaced the hand-operated presses of the past, reducing the amount of time it took to print a book.
Before the invention of the printing press, scribes centred in monasteries hand copied out each book.
In the 1400’s the authorities ordered two hundred heretical writings to be burned, at the height of the Hussite crisis. Two hundred works during that time were incredibly difficult to replace because of the process that was involved in creating a piece of literature. While being time consuming, the majority of scribes worked for the Church.
Before the printing press was created, books were “block-printed”. This means that lettering and pictures were carved into a block of wood before being inked and pressed to paper. This process took a lot of time and became an expensive process, because each phrase or word would be carved onto a separate block.
Printing Press Process
The idea of making rag paper came from the Chinese, who had been making paper from water and rags for centuries, and who adopted the process from the Arabs. The squeeze press, which was used to pressing the rags into paper, was also used to evenly press print onto paper.
Johannes Gutenberg created durable metal type by using a mixture of lead, antimony, and tin that was durable, could hold dye, and would be able to melt at a low temperature. For each letter, the mirror image was carved into a small block. Individual letters would then be put together to form words and separated to create lines or pages of type. This enabled him to use the same letters in different combinations over and over again to create a range of text.
Gutenberg was also credited with combining his own movable type, along with oil based inks, rag paper, and the squeeze press into the printing press. Before Gutenberg created his version, however, China had their own form of a printing press centuries earlier, as well as a Dutchman who created his own years before Gutenberg.
Gutenberg never profited from the press, and worked with borrowed money.
In 1452, Johannes Gutenberg began his Bible project, printing two hundred copies of the expensive and beautiful Bibles, fifty of which are still around today.
Impact of the Printing Press
The goal of the printing press was to cut down on the cost of books and to increase book production. The printing press made a vast amount of information more accessible, and helped to spread information quickly and efficiently. The printing press also ensured that nothing was “lost in translation”, because it took away the possibility of changing the text as scholars were able to do with hand copying.
Though the first books printed using the press were religious and the type used imitated handwritten fonts, mainly to help people accept this form of printing books, the invention of the printing press led to a wider variety of books on non-religious topics to be printed.
By 1482 the printing press had spread across Europe, with approximately one hundred presses in different cities in Western Europe. With the spread of the printing press came the idea to print smaller books that were cheaper, as opposed to the large Bibles that were generally printed.
The printing press helped to spread information more accurately and at a more efficient pace, as well as meeting the demand for a less-costly way to produce books.
With the innovation of the printing press came more secular books being printed, now that it was no longer church scribes copying each piece of literature. Scientists were able to do the same work in different areas and share their findings accurately with other scientists, so that they could further their own research. This helped lead to the Scientific Revolution.
The printing press made it more difficult for the Church to sensor what was being printed and distributed. This led to Europe’s divide during the Protestant Reformation.
Any changes in the printing press between its invention and the 1800s were minimal, until 1814 when rotary steam presses replaced the hand-operated presses of the past, reducing the amount of time it took to print a book.