The Printing Press Most Important Invention in History?

Life Before the Printing Press Books could only be found in monasteries, places of education, and in the homes of the very wealthy Because copying was a long and hard process, only texts that were popular would be reproduced. The Bible was the primary text

Scribes Were responsible for copying manuscripts and illuminators created the illustrations Illuminators added stylized fonts, gold trimming, and beautiful color to the pages. Worked in special rooms called scriptoriums

Early Process Parchment was made from animal skin Bought, brought to the monastery, and rubbed smooth by an assistant before the copying could begin Lines had to be spaced exactly, marked by knife incisions.

Johannes Gutenberg Born around 1399 in Mainz, Germany Trained as a metallurgist and goldsmith Used his skills in metalworking to create the metal movable type printing press. Died a poor man Took hundreds of years for people to appreciate his invention.

The Printing Press Created in 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg Inspired by the wine press, which used a similar technique Constructed mainly out of wood The letters used in the press were made out of metal and covered in ink. Paper was placed on the letters and then “pressed” by the machine.

How did the invention of the printing press impact society?

It’s Influence Allowed books to be mass-produced which lowered the cost to purchase those books. Naturally, knowledge would be available to a lot more people! Created an intellectual revolution in all areas of thought- philosophy, science, and religion

Access to books and knowledge increased a great deal Ideas developed and spread more quickly than ever before! Led to a rise in literacy, or the ability to read because people had more access to books

Fun facts After Gutenburg created the metal movable type printing press, others stole his idea and made a lot of money from the press. Time magazine named Gutenberg’s press the most important invention of the last thousand years. Gutenberg printed over 150 copies of the Bible, but only 49 of them exist today. One copy was recently sold for 2 million dollars.

“Like a new star, it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance and cause a light heretofore unknown to shine amongst men.” -Johannes Gutenberg

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