Amelia Pieklik

Process Paper

​Communication in History: Key to Understanding

The Printing Press

Over the years in my education, one topic which has been brought up frequently was printing

and the spread of documents all across the world. My younger self had many burning questions

on how this was all ultimately possible, but it dates back to one machine which would change the

lives of everyone. I finally got the chance to research more about this topic, find one of the first

and oldest printed documents, and learn about the modernized machine invented by Johannes

Gutenberg from the 15th Century which made this widespread communication possible.

My preliminary research has begun by reading about the oldest printed book created, the

Diamond Sutra which was printed in 868 using the oldest form of woodblock printing. I ventured

into the other known ways of printing which originated primarily in Asia, eventually getting to

the first mechanical form of printing invented in the 15th century. I have scanned through

various books found in my local library which have explained processes of print, reading through

websites, and using the Library of Congress to get visuals on how the printing press looked like.

In order to most accurately process and share the information about the printing press and

how it has connected the world together in a simple way, I chose to create a website. The website

would have information organized in a way where it would be enjoyable, but also richly

populated with facts and images to deepen the understanding of the topic. I chose colors which

mimicked those of a modern printer, which include magenta, cyan, yellow and black.

My topic relates to the annual theme of Communication in History: Key to Understanding

because the printing press has given the opportunity to have a wide scale effect on spreading
information to various parts of the globe, and to this day still exists. Communication was made

easier because more people had access to books and documents, which has never been done

effectively before. My topic of the printing press is significant in history because Johannes

Gutenberg has created the first modern way of printing using mechanics. Not only has the

printing press been one of the most important inventions to shape modern society, but has

drastically changed how us humans receive information and evolve as one.

The creation of the first ever printing press has allowed for the more effective way of the

spread of information to various regions in the world, as well as creating the ability of mass

production not done by hand, but by the use of a machine.

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