The Printing Press

By Amanda

Who Invented the Printing Press?

• The Printing press is believed to be invented by Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (AKA John Gutenberg) although it is also believed (by some) that the Chinese REALLY invented the printing press, and Gutenberg fine tuned it.

Who was John Gutenberg?

John Gutenberg was a German goldsmith, and printer. He is famous for his printing press, and his “Gutenberg Bible”. This was one of the first things he printed, and was known by its 42 lines on each page.

How did printing change the cost of a book?

The “Gutenberg Bible” sold for about thirty florins each, which was roughly three years wages for an average clerk. Still, this was much less than a hand printed bible would have cost. A hand written bible would sometimes take a whole year to finish, if it was done by hand. Not only did the monks hand copy it, they illustrated it.

The Gutenberg press

Gutenberg’s early printing process, and what tests he may have made are not known in great detail. His later bibles were printed six paged at a time, and would’ve needed 100,000 pieces of type-making the type alone would’ve took years. It is thought that the Gutenberg-Fust (that was his business partner)shop had 25 employees.

Fust takes Gutenberg to court!

Around 1455, Fust and Gutenberg began fighting, and Fust demanded his money back. Meanwhile, the expenses of the Bible project had proliferated, and Gutenberg’s debt was now over 2,000 guilders.

Fust Sues!

Gutenberg was sued at the archbishop’s court, by Fust. Sometime around November 1455 a legal document records that Gutenberg had used the funds for the books, on something else. The court decided in favor of Fust, giving him control over the Bible printing workshop, and half of the Bibles.

Gutenberg is Bankrupt!

After Gutenberg went bankrupt, it appears that he re-started a small printing shop, and participated in the printing of a Bible, in the town of Bamberg around 1459. It is also possible that the large Catholicon dictionary 300 of the 744 pages printed in Mainz, may have been made in his workshop.

Outline• The Printing Press• I.                    Who Invented the Printing Press?

• A.   The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg,who was a german inventor, and goldsmith.

• 1.       Gutenberg was born between 1394, and 1400. He died in 1468.

• B.   How Did Gutenberg’s Printing Press Work?

• 1.       The Gutenberg press was a hand press, in which ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of the moveable block letters within the form, and then the form

was placed on a piece of paper .

Outline

• II.              How long did the printing press last?

• A.   The Gutenberg press was used until about 300 years later. Then Lord Stanhope constructed a press completely from cast iron, which reduced the size by 90% while doubling the size of the printed area.

• B.   While Stanhopes press was an improvement, it still only printed 250 pages an hour. German printer Friedrich Koenig would be the first to invent a press that used no manpower; it ran off of steam.

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Outline

• In Conclusion, I believe that had the printing press not been invented, we might still be hand lettering our books. One of my theories is that the monks were actually people who were disliked by the king, so he made them wear dresses, and do copy work for the rest of their lives. Now, that's what I call Medieval torture! Gutenberg spared us from having to do this by coming up with the absolutely brilliant printing press.   

More Info

For more info on the printing press, check out these links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press

For a funny printing press video check out this link http://www.jordanleary.com/files/gutenberg.html

Thanks for watching!