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The global spread of the printing press began with the invention of the printing press with movable type by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany c. 1439. [1] Western printing technology was adopted in all world regions by the end of the 19th century, displacing the manuscript and block printing .
The invention of the printing press revolutionized communication and book production, leading to the spread of knowledge. [106] Printing was rapidly spread from Germany by emigrating German printers, but also by foreign apprentices returning home. A printing press was built in Venice in 1469, and by 1500 the city had 417 printers.
The printing press, some may argue, is not a part of print culture, but had a substantial impact upon the development of print culture through the times. The printing press brought uniform copies and efficiency in print. It allowed a person to make a living from writing. Most importantly, it spread print throughout society.
Printing is considered one of the Four Great Inventions of China that spread throughout the world. [3] [11]According to the Book of the Southern Qi, in the 480s, a man named Gong Xuanyi (龔玄宜) styled himself Gong the Sage and "said that a supernatural being had given him a 'jade seal jade block writing,' which did not require a brush: one blew on the paper and characters formed."
The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible (1455) established the superiority of movable type in Europe and the use of printing presses spread rapidly. The printing press may be regarded as one of the key factors fostering the Renaissance [10] and, due to its effectiveness, its use spread around the globe.
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink.It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the cloth, paper, or other medium was brushed or rubbed repeatedly to achieve the transfer of ink and accelerated the process.
Before a printer could realistically consider going into the printing business, the finances required to purchase a printing press, and type, had to be secured. Both of these necessities were expensive and not always easily obtainable. Up until the middle of the 18th century, the printing presses employed in the colonies were imported from England.
Printing was refined in China in 1297, leading to the mass production of books, and 150 years later the Gutenberg printing press appeared in 1440 in Germany. With Gutenberg's reinvention of the printing press, printing spread throughout Europe; this allowed the efficient production of books, pamphlets, and other typed works. [5]