Gutenberg Press

The phrase Gutenberg press signifies a 15th-century technological innovation in publishing based on the use of a printing press featuring both moveable metal type and automatic inking to create multiple copies of text in large quantities. The use of ink and type to make impressions in printing [Page 756]for publication was not a new process; the Chinese had used wooden block presses to create books as early as the 8th century CE. The problem with using wooden blocks was the short lifespan of the blocks, requiring frequent replacements. In addition, most of the blocks required the ink to be replenished by hand after only a small number of impressions. The limited lifespan of the images and the slow process of inking greatly reduced the utility, ...