Gutenberg Printing Press Emily Strauss

Prior to the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, the most common method of printing was the use of the woodblock. The printing trade was dominated by the use of the woodblock method, in which a piece of cloth or paper was put on top of a woodblock covered in ink and an image or impression would be formed by rubbing the cloth or paper. This was tedious, time-consuming, and impractical for widespread use. Prior to the use of the Gutenberg printing press, water-based inks were used. Gutenberg introduced the use of oil based inks, which more easily transferred from metal to paper.

The Gutenberg printing press was novel in that it split the text into individual parts, such as punctuation marks, spaces, and upper and lower case letters. They were then pressed and assembled to form words, lines, and pages. The instrument allowed the printer to quickly cast a large mix of letters. It was a huge leap in terms of speed and efficiency.

The effects of the printing press were huge. First, it led to the widespread production of the Gutenberg bible. It also increased the production of books and therefore cut the cost of them. It led to a spread of information throughout society and allowed libraries to hold a greater amount of information at a much lower cost, also educating the populace. This also improved progress in scholarship and science.

The invention of the printing press introduced a new mode of mass communication. This weakened the power of religious institutions, as they no longer held a monopoly on information. It led to an increase in literacy and increased the size of the middle class, as information, books, and education no longer belonged only to the elite. It also led to a rise in nationalism, as the spread of information and culture led to a growing awareness of culture. It also led to a decrease in the use of Latin, as other European languages increased in use.

The invention of the printing press also greatly influenced the Reformation, as the power of religious institutions such as the church were no longer sole authorities on information. In addition, political authorities no longer held sole power over information, as the spread of information was relatively unrestricted by borders, and it transcended national boundaries.

It is said that Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press is matched only by the invention of the internet, as this new mode of spreading information and print very much resembles it. It also helped to bring on a surge in the scientific revolution. It also brought in a new idea of tables of contents and indices, as page numbering became more exact.

Bibliography "The Gutenberg Press." Treasures of the McDonald Collection. Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries, n.d. Web. 19 Oct "Renaissance -- Printing and Thinking." Renaissance -- Printing and Thinking. Annenberg Center, Web. 18 Oct Giges, Nancy. "Johannes Gutenberg." ASME. ASME, n.d. Web. 19 Oct