Johannes Gutenburg

In the past books weren't available to the public and in fact there were very few, mostly available to monks and priests. The Literacy level was extremely low at the time and the literate mostly consisted of only the rich. It was considered a privilege and not a right. Books were hand written by the monks and often took months if not years to be made. 

In 1450,  Johannes Gutenberg invented the  movable type technique. It was inexpensive and abled people to  make a lot of the same books. The first technique of printing known to man was the woodcut. It was able to produce pictures and text. However, it was a very long process taking months if not years. 

During the 15th century this became got very popular. The demand for books was on the increase, libraries were in fact created. Books however were  too expensive, and there needed to be a mass of them.

Gutenberg  invented his new technique, cutting up text separately. He then put them together over and over again to form different words. He later on stepped up his game and invented the hand casting instrument, where molten lead was poured into a rectangular channel. This allowed him to mass produce letters and produce them quickly. The main advantage of his invention was that it was able to be re used over and over again, saving both time and money. These different letters were then put into a typesetter, forming a line of letters/words ready to print. His first big work after trying out official documents and grammars was the Latin bible, taking him and his co workers 2 years to produce 180 copies. He aimed at making his work look aesthetically pleasing just at though it was hand written. His technique was soon spoken of in several different countries and the first printing presses started to be set up and the Typeface Antinqua was soon born and spread through out most of Europe. 

The process of how the letters were made using molten lead.

Thanks to Gutenberg's creation an unlimited number of the lead letters could be produced. 

This led to an increase in book production, increase literacy rates  and making books lower  in price, becoming more affordable. At this point, everyone was being given the chance to read and it wasn't just the rich anymore who had this privilege.

Libraries started to be made as books suddenly started to become a demand.














After people took on this printing method, fliers started to be made - them being the new form of news media. In 1650 the first newspaper was created and was published 6 days a week.  However the first newspapers started to be made and become dominant when the steam powered rotary printing press' were made in the 19th century. Through this we can see that the invention of movable type has changed the printing world forever.

Books started to then, be produced in bigger numbers with new machinary.

Screenshot of one of Gutenberg's first fliers ever distributed. It was deigned to warn the people of a flood soon to occur.













85 Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press - YouTube. 2014. 85 Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1vl2j24Mtk. > [Accessed 22 January 2014].

Johannes Gutenberg - Printing Press. 2014. Johannes Gutenberg - Printing Press. [ONLINE] Available at:<http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.htm.> [Accessed 22 January 2014].