Printing press Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == History == {{Main|History of printing}} === Economic conditions and intellectual climate === {{See also|History of capitalism|Medieval university}} [[File:Laurentius de Voltolina 001.jpg|thumb|[[Medieval university]] class (1350s)]] The rapid economic and socio-cultural development of [[Late Middle Ages|late medieval society]] in Europe created favorable intellectual and technological conditions for Gutenberg's improved version of the printing press: the entrepreneurial spirit of [[history of capitalism|emerging capitalism]] increasingly made its impact on medieval modes of production, fostering economic thinking and improving the efficiency of traditional work processes. The sharp rise of [[Medieval university|medieval learning]] and literacy amongst the [[middle class]] led to an increased demand for books which the time-consuming hand-copying method fell far short of accommodating.<ref>{{harvnb|Eisenstein|1980}}; {{harvnb|Febvre|Martin|1997}}; {{harvnb|Man|2002}}</ref> === Technological factors === {{See also|History of Western typography|Medieval technology}} Technologies preceding the press that led to the press's invention included: [[Papermaking|manufacturing of paper]], development of ink, [[woodblock printing]], and invention of [[eyeglasses]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Colin|title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of France|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-43294-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00jone_0/page/133 133]|edition=1st|date=1994-10-20|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00jone_0}}</ref> At the same time, a number of medieval products and technological processes had reached a level of maturity which allowed their potential use for printing purposes. Gutenberg took up these far-flung strands, combined them into one complete and functioning system, and perfected the printing process through all its stages by adding a number of inventions and innovations of his own: [[File:Holzspindelkelter von 1702.jpg|thumb|left|Early modern [[wine press]]. Such [[screw press]]es, used in Europe for a wide range of uses, provided Gutenberg with the model for his printing press.]] The [[screw press]] which allowed direct pressure to be applied on a flat plane was already of great antiquity in Gutenberg's time and was used for a wide range of tasks.<ref>{{harvnb|Wolf|1974|pp=21–35}}</ref> Introduced in the 1st century AD by the [[Roman agriculture|Romans]], it was commonly employed in agricultural production for [[Pressing (wine)|pressing grapes]] for wine and olives for oil, both of which formed an integral part of the [[Mediterranean diet|Mediterranean]] and [[Medieval cuisine|medieval diet]].<ref>{{harvnb|Onken|2009}}; {{harvnb|White|1984|pp=31ff.}}; {{harvnb|Schneider|2007|pp=156–159}}</ref> The device was also used from very early on in urban contexts as a cloth press for printing patterns.<ref>{{harvnb|Schneider|2007|p=158}}</ref> Gutenberg may have also been inspired by the paper presses which had spread through the [[Holy Roman Empire|German lands]] since the late 14th century and which worked on the same mechanical principles.<ref>{{harvnb|Schulte|1939|p=56}}</ref> During the [[Islamic Golden Age]], Arab Muslims were printing texts, including passages from the [[Qur’an]], embracing the Chinese craft of paper making, developed it and adopted it widely in the [[Muslim world]], which led to a major increase in the production of manuscript texts. In [[Egypt]] during the [[Fatimid]] era, the printing technique was adopted reproducing texts on paper strips by hand and supplying them in various copies to meet the demand.<ref name=bloom8>{{cite book |first=Jonathan |last=Bloom |year=2001 |title=Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World |url=https://archive.org/details/paperbeforeprint00bloo |url-access=limited |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=0-300-08955-4 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/paperbeforeprint00bloo/page/n23 8]–10, 42–45}}</ref> Gutenberg adopted the basic design, thereby mechanizing the printing process.<ref>{{harvnb|Wolf|1974|pp=39ff.}}</ref> Printing, however, put a demand on the machine quite different from pressing. Gutenberg adapted the construction so that the pressing power exerted by the [[platen]] on the paper was now applied both evenly and with the required sudden elasticity. To speed up the printing process, he introduced a movable undertable with a plane surface on which the sheets could be swiftly changed.<ref>{{harvnb|Wolf|1974|pp=39–46}}</ref> [[File:metal movable type.jpg|thumb|[[Movable type]] sorted in a letter case and loaded in a [[composing stick]] on top]] The concept of movable type existed prior to 15th century Europe; sporadic evidence that the [[typographical principle]], the idea of creating a text by reusing individual characters, was known and had been cropping up since the 12th century and possibly before (the oldest known application dating back as far as the [[Phaistos disc#Typography|Phaistos disc]]). The known examples range from [[History_of_printing_in_East_Asia#Movable_type|movable type printing in China]] during the [[Song dynasty]]; in [[Korea]] during the [[Goryeo Dynasty]], where metal movable-type printing technology was developed in 1234;<ref name=Needham>{{cite book |title=Paper and Printing |author=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |author-link=Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin |author2=Joseph Needham |author2-link=Joseph Needham |series=Science and Civilisation in China|volume=5 part 1|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=158, 201|year=1985}}</ref><ref name=Briggs/> to Germany ([[Prüfening dedicatory inscription|Prüfening inscription]]) and England ([[letter tiles]]) and Italy ([[Altarpiece of Pellegrino II]]).<ref>Germany: {{harvnb|Brekle|1995|pp=23–26}}, {{harvnb|Brekle|1997|p=62}}, {{harvnb|Brekle|2005|p=25}}; England: {{harvnb|Lehmann-Haupt|1940|pp=93–97}}, {{harvnb|Brekle|1997|p=62}}; Italy: {{harvnb|Lipinsky|1986|pp=75–80}}, {{harvnb|Koch|1994|p=213}}. Lipinsky surmises that this typographical technique was known in [[Constantinople]] from the 10th to the 12th century and that the [[Venice|Venetians]] received it from there (p. 78).</ref> However, the various techniques employed (imprinting, punching and assembling individual letters) did not have the refinement and efficiency needed to become widely accepted. Tsuen-Hsuin and Needham, and Briggs and Burke suggest that the movable-type printing in China and Korea was rarely employed.<ref name=Needham/><ref name=Briggs>Briggs, Asa and Burke, Peter (2002). ''A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet'', Polity, Cambridge, pp. 15–23, 61–73.</ref> Gutenberg greatly improved the process by treating [[typesetting]] and [[printing]] as two separate work steps. A goldsmith by profession, he created his type pieces from a [[lead]]-based [[alloy]] which suited printing purposes so well that it is still used today.<ref name="EB: Printing">"Printing". ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' (2006).</ref> The mass production of metal letters was achieved by his key invention of a special [[hand mould]], the [[Matrix (printing)|matrix]].<ref name="Childress 2008, 51–55">{{harvnb|Childress|2008|pp=51–55}}</ref> The [[Latin alphabet]] proved to be an enormous advantage in the process because, in contrast to [[Logogram|logographic writing systems]], it allowed the type-setter to represent any text with a theoretical minimum of only around two dozen different letters.<ref>{{harvnb|Childress|2008|pp=51–55}}; {{harvnb|Hellinga|2007|p=208}}: "Gutenberg's invention took full advantage of the degree of abstraction in representing language forms that was offered by the alphabet and by the Western forms of script that were current in the fifteenth century."</ref> Another factor conducive to printing arose from the book existing in the format of the [[codex]], which had originated in the [[Roman Empire|Roman period]].<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=24–30}}</ref> Considered the most important advance in the history of the book prior to printing itself, the codex had completely replaced the ancient [[scroll]] at the onset of the Middle Ages (AD{{nbsp}}500).<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=1, 38–67, 75}}: "The most momentous development in the history of the book until the invention of printing was the replacement of the roll by the codex; this we may define as a collection of sheets of any material, folded double and fastened together at the back or spine, and usually protected by covers." (p. 1)</ref> The codex holds considerable practical advantages over the scroll format: it is more convenient to read (by turning pages), more compact, and less costly, and both [[recto and verso]] sides could be used for writing or printing, unlike the scroll.<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=45–53}}. Technically speaking, a scroll could be written on its back side, too, but the very few ancient specimens found indicate that this was never considered a viable option. (p. 46)</ref> [[File:Gutenberg Bible, Lenox Copy, New York Public Library, 2009. Pic 01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|left|A paper [[codex]] of the [[42-line Bible]], Gutenberg's major work]] A fourth development was the early success of medieval papermakers at mechanizing paper manufacture. The introduction of water-powered [[paper mill]]s, the first certain evidence of which dates to 1282,<ref>{{harvnb|Burns|1996|p=418}}</ref> allowed for a massive expansion of production and replaced the laborious handcraft characteristic of both Chinese<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|1978|p=169}}; {{harvnb|Tsien|1985|p=68−73}}; {{harvnb|Lucas|2005|p=28, fn. 70}}</ref> and Muslim papermaking.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|1978|p=169}}; {{harvnb|Burns|1996|pp=414–417}}</ref> Papermaking centres began to multiply in the late 13th century in [[Italy]], reducing the price of paper to one-sixth of [[parchment]] and then falling further; papermaking centers reached Germany a century later.<ref>{{harvnb|Burns|1996|p=417}}</ref> Despite this it appears that the final breakthrough of paper depended just as much on the rapid spread of movable-type printing.<ref>{{harvnb|Febvre|Martin|1997|pp=41–44}}; {{harvnb|Burns|1996|p=419}}: "In the West, the only inhibiting expense in the production of writings for an increasingly literate market was the manual labor of the scribe himself. With his mechanization by movable-type printing in the 1440s, the manufacture of paper, until then relatively confined, began to spread very widely. The Paper Revolution of the thirteenth century thus entered a new era."</ref> Codices of parchment, which in terms of quality is superior to any other [[writing material]],<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|Skeat|1983|pp=7f.}}: "Despite all that has been said above, even the strongest supporters of papyrus would not deny that parchment of good quality is the finest writing material ever devised by man. It is immensely strong, remains flexible indefinitely under normal conditions, does not deteriorate with age, and possesses a smooth, even surface which is both pleasant to the eye and provides unlimited scope for the finest writing and illumination."</ref> still had a substantial share in Gutenberg's edition of the [[42-line Bible]].<ref>The ratio between paper and parchment copies is estimated at around 150 to 30 ({{harvnb|Hanebutt-Benz|2000|pp=158–189}}).</ref> After much experimentation, Gutenberg managed to overcome the difficulties which traditional water-based inks caused by soaking the paper, and found the formula for an oil-based ink suitable for high-quality printing with metal type.<ref>{{harvnb|Childress|2008|p=60}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page