How to Learn About the Printing Press

The invention of the printing press is credited to German goldsmith and inventor Johannes Gutenberg in 1436. The printing press is a machine for printing onto a surface such as paper from metal type. The following steps will aid in your search for information about this invention.

Instructions

1. Look for technical information on the printing press. The Gutenberg press developed from screw-type wine presses. Gutenberg's printing press had movable, wooden block letters hand-set in a wooden form. The ink was rolled over the form and then pressed onto a sheet of paper.

2. Read about how Gutenberg borrowed money from Andreas Dritzehn in 1438 to fund his experiments in printing and from Johannes Fust in 1450 to build the first large press. The Bible became the first commercial publication on September 30, 1452. This printing press brought the price of printed materials down to where they could be made available to everyone.

3. Search websites on history to learn that this method of printing revolutionized the production of books and promoted a rapid development in the arts, sciences and religion. Many printing techniques such as offset printing, the rotary press and linotype have been based on Gutenberg's press, which remained the standard until the twentieth century.

4. Study modern history to know that offset lithography is the most common technique used to print books and newspapers today. Other methods include dye transfer, flexography, hot wax, ink jet, relief print, rotogravure and screen printing.