What does the name, Johannes Gutenberg mean to you? Chances are you've probably heard of him before and rightfully so. Gutenberg's innovation of the printing press was very helpful, but in order to appreciate it to the max extent, we have to go back in time a bit.
The year is 3500 BC, the place, Mesopotamia. This is when and where the first idea of printing something came about. Stamp seals were a marvel at this time. Only people in power had one. But like any antique invention, it had it's disadvantages. See the thing about stamp seals is they served a double purpose, rings. People of royalty would where them as rings and stamp important document using these seals once they were filled with ink. So, as you can imagine stamp seals were kind of small.
Fast forward. It is now the 1st C.E. and the Romans have invented a screw press. While this enables people to print larger documents, there is no way of knowing for sure how to get it just right. If someone cranked the press too much the wood would break, too little and it wouldn't print.
A little later in China it is the 3rd C.E. and the middle of the Han dynasty. Someone had the idea of printing with wooden blocks. Egypt has the same idea but they're about 1 C.E. late. Like all the innovations before it the wooden blocks are fragile and inefficient.
Finally we get back to China in 1040 C.E. A man by the name of Bi Sheng has invented movable type. Now all too often Gutenberg is credited for the first one to create movable type, but this is not the case. While Sheng's invention was smart it just wasn't smart enough. He still used wood! Wood can break and crack and is just too fragile.
During the 15th C.E. is when Gutenberg comes along and has the great idea of taking Bi Sheng's movable type and making it metal. This way printing is cheaper faster and efficient. And there we have it folks, the innovations of the printing press.
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