Johannes Gutenberg and The Printing Press

1302 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gutenberg and his printing press

The printing press was invented in 1453. The movable printing technology was invented in China in 1040 but Johannes Gutenberg was able to perfect this technology by creating the Gutenberg printer in 1440. The printer was a movable type. A movable type was where individual blocks could be set up in order to print almost anything. Before this, wooden blocks, carved by hand were used to print things. These blocks would have consisted of what the individual wanted to print which would take an incredible amount of time. Gutenberg’s invention of a movable type printer established the ability for mass communication.
The Gutenberg printer consisted of a base that was constructed out of wood that provided a stable platform for the printing process. This required pressing paper onto ink typed heads. A holder, which was also constructed of wood, was there to hold the paper in place for use to be pressed against the ink types. The paper was sandwiched between two frames and was placed on a wedge so that the paper could be easily removed and the ink types could be replaced. Once solid, letters were affixed on the top of rectangular stalks, which themselves were slotted into a rectangular container in order. Individual letters were made by pouring a lead-tin alloy into a copper mold. The paper was then placed on top of the rectangular container and pressed upon the inked type with a heavy screw clamp.
The printer was created by Gutenberg in 1450. Before this, however, Gutenberg was in financial trouble. He had lost a lot of money by investing in creating items for an exhibit that presented religious artifacts but before he could sell anything, the exhibit was closed. In order to keep the investors happy Gutenberg supposedly unveiled th...

... middle of paper ...

...nues to this day.

Works Cited

1. Ament, Phil. "History of the Printing Press - Invention of the Printing Press." History of the Printing Press - Invention of the Printing Press. Troy MI: ©1997-2007, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.

2. Hanebutt-Benz, Eva-Maria. "Gutenberg Und Seine Zeit: Gutenberg Und Mainz." Gutenberg Und Seine Zeit: Gutenberg Und Mainz. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.

3. How It Works Team. "See inside the Gutenberg Printing Press | How It Works Magazine." How It Works Magazine. How It Works Team, 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 1 May 2014.

4. Knauer, Kelly. "Gutenberg's Printing Press - 1440." Gutenberg's
Printing Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014.
5. Man, John, and John Man. Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World With Words. New York: Wiley, 2002.
6. McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man. [Toronto]: University of Toronto Press, 1962.

Show More
Related

  • The Short-Term Consequences Of Gutenberg's Printing Press

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Books today are everywhere. We find them in many households, libraries and schools all around the globe. We find many different types of books; from stories to educational textbooks, we regard them today as sources of knowledge and amusement. But it wasn’t the case before 1455. That year, one of the greatest inventions in human history was revealed to the world; Gutenberg’s printing press. This press allowed printing in massive quantity, spreading books all around Europe and the rest of the world at a fast rate. The printing press had many positive consequences on society. At first, it standardized grammar and spelling, and then introduced the mass production of books. It finally inspired future printing technologies around the world.

    Read More

  • What Was The Most Important Consequence of the Printing Press?

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, Johannes Gutenberg was born 1395, in Mainz, Germany. He started experimenting with printing by 1438. He obtained backing in 1450 from the financier Johann Fust, whose impatience and other factors led to Gutenberg's loss of his establishment to Fust in 1455. Gutenberg's masterpiece, and the first book ever printed from movable type, is the “Forty-Two-Line” Bible, completed no later than 1455" (http://www.biography.com)". The first most important consequence of the printing press is that it chang...

    Read More

  • Difference Between The Protestant Reformation And The Age Of Exploration

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the invention of the printing press, any writing done, whether it was a book, or drawing, or copies of the Bible had to be completed painstakingly by the hand. Every letter, every word, every sentence, had to be written down by hand. It took almost over an entire year to write a single book. In addition to the large amount of time spent, people often made mistakes delaying the publishing of the book. The effects of these scarce, handwritten copies were that education and learning was very limited. Desperate for fame and money, German Johannes Gutenberg changed all of that. In 1450, Gutenberg created the first ever printing press, built and improved existing printing methods. Soon, by the 1500’s printing shops were located everywhere in the major cities of Europe. People had a better way of spreading ideas and findings of new lands during the Age of Exploration, the period of time when Europeans began exploring the world by sea in search of new discoveries, trade routes, and goods found in other countries. The Age of Exploration was affected by the printing press more than the Protestant Reformation was, because it helped publicize recent findings, inspiring and

    Read More

  • This Changes Everything, Again: The Remediation of Print on the Web

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    This new technology is not without its shortcomings. First, the printing press used limited materials. Next, as Mumford notes, the advent of print led calligraphers and manuscript copyists out of work. Furthermore, as Graff finds, it created “typographical fixity”—material once printed cannot be changed. Finally, mass production was dependent and limited to large markets (Mumford, 95)....

    Read More

  • Why Is Gun Violence Important

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first printing press was created to make books (Mostly bibles in the day) cheaper and more accessible. At this time only nobles and scribes new how to read and write. In result of this press, written pieces became commonplace making the common people needing to know how to read and write. This literacy spread and spread as the printing press became more common and caused the majority of the world’s people to be as literate as it is today which helped to revolutionize the work

    Read More

  • A Good Man is Hard to Find: The Power of Manipulation

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. An Introduction to Literature. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.

    Read More

  • The Man Who Was Almost a Man

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wright, Richard. "The Man Who Was Almost a Man." Literature and the Writing Process. Ed.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Factors That Changed The Period Of 1450-1700

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    The printing press allowed anything to be spread throughout the world with relative ease, and for cheap. Prior to the 1436 invention by Johannes Gutenberg, books were written BY HAND, by the priests and scholars of the time which meant knowledge was limited, and the spreading of news would take much longer. Without the printing press Martin Luther would never had been able to spread his ideals throughout the world. The printing press made it easier for males, and sometimes women to get educated, this still did

    Read More

  • How Did The Industrial Revolution Affect The Development Of New English Language Typefaces?

    3479 Words  | 7 Pages

    Wood-type printing allowed new typefaces to be created and used for printing cheaper than ever before. Technological advances permitted machine-set typography to be printed on machine-manufactured paper with high-speed steam-powered printing presses. The use of color lithography passed the aesthetic experience of colorful images from the privileged few to the whole of society.

    Read More

  • Consequences of the Printing Press on Exploration and Reformation

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever wanted to find out what consequences the printing press had on exploration and reformation? Well, you can find out right here. To start off with, the printing press was invented in the 1450’s by Johannes Gutenberg. The idea was not new because in 600 CE the Chinese introduced woodblock printing. They even did a little experimenting with movable wooden blocks but with 50,000 characters it was impossible to carve. One of the reasons Gutenberg was so successful was that the alphabet at the time was much less than 50,000, which was much more realistic when carving. In about 1455 Gutenberg had about 180 bibles that were over 1800 pages long printed, by the year 1500 more than 20 million books had been printed, and by 1600 over 200 million books were in existence. The big question is though, which was the more important consequence of the printing press the reformation or exploration? Reformation was an important consequence of the printing press. However, an even more important consequence was exploration.

    Read More

  • History of Jules Cheret and French Posters

    2181 Words  | 5 Pages

    Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440 to multiply written documents easily, making books cheaper and more nationally available. In 1798, Alois Senefelder invented Lithography to copy graphical designs, developing the culture of advertising (wet-canvas, no given date, Jules Cheret: the father of the modern poster). Ho...

    Read More

  • Richard Wright’s Misperception of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God

    2452 Words  | 5 Pages

    Kinnamon, Keneth. The Emergence of RIchard Wright: A Study in Literature and Society. 1973. Reprint, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972.

    Read More

  • John Green, One of the Most Inspirational Authors of the 20th Century

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a great essence, John Green changed the way authors are respected in the game of writing. He managed to stabilize his popularity, capture the hearts of fans from every background, and deliver influential works of literature that top standardized goals today. Whether it be helping charities with web projects or swaying minds, Green’s inspiration continually effects the 20th century’s today.

    Read More

  • Plagarism And Copyright Essay

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    The controversy started with the invention of the printing press. When the printing press was invented in the mid 15th century by Johannes Gutenburg, it became possible to create copies of written and drawn works with less time and one of the earliest patents known in history came with it. This patent was a five year monopoly given to him in 1469 by the Venetian Republic2.

    Read More

  • Johann Gutenberg and the Printing Press

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Johannes Gutenberg is an inventor born in Mainz and created the printing press. The printing press was the invention of moveable metal type paper and was able to print books, newspapers, bibles and much more. It was the start of something new and evolved throughout the entire world. Gutenberg’s creation was known to be the most significant invention in history. It is the most prompted creation that people could ever ask for and for many extraordinary reasons. The reason why the printing press was so useful than just any other invention is because it spread everywhere. It was the most useful achievement in history because without it today, where would we be? How could you or any of us be writing or, typing? Where and how would our relgion expand to or how would we express our thoughts and opinions? The printing press helped us achieve these monumental experiments and helped us develop together as a whole new generation. The news about the printing press created more and more competition with businesses and soon became the talk of every business. The printing press created future chances for bigger and more power inventions to advance. The prin...

    Read More

More about Johannes Gutenberg and The Printing Press

Open Document