001514 – 109 – Đinh Thị Bảo Tâm

JOHN GUTENBERG AND THE INVENTION OF PRINTING

One of the most significant inventions in human history is the printing press, which
was created by German goldsmith Johann Gutenberg in 1448.

The majority of books were written by hand and copied before the printing press was
created. was gaining popularity, which entailed pressing a block of wood onto paper
and carving each page of a text into the block. Only the wealthy could purchase
books since they were so expensive and labor-intensive to produce.

Gutenberg born in Mainz, Germany, in the year 1399. He began developing a

system that would allow texts to be printed using moveable letter and graphic blocks.
With the use of these blocks, paper, ink, and a press, books could be printed books
much more quickly and affordably than ever before. He fashioned 290 blocks of
letters and symbols from of known metals like lead, antimony, and tin, and
developed an ink consisting of linseed and soot that he thought would work best for
printing on handmade paper. He modified a wine press so that paper could be slid
into and out of it and water could be squeezed out of the paper after printing.
He printed a Latin book on speechmaking in 1450 as a test run for his moveable type
system. After being successful in this venture, he started work on his most well-
known endeavor, the printing of "The Gutenberg Bibles."

The Latin-printed bibles achieved notoriety for being the first books ever printed in
Europe and the first ever printed Bibles. Each of the two hundred copies included
stunning drawings and vivid colors. The creativity of Gutenberg's method for
representing the calligraphy used in handmade volumes in blocks allowed for the
preservation of the richness of the original texts. Later, hand-illuminated characters
and images were added. Only 22 of the original Gutenberg bibles are still in
existence as of this writing.

The printing press was one of the most important inventions in human history,
developed by German goldsmith Johann Gutenberg in 1448.
Before the invention of the printing press, the bulk of books were written by hand and
copied. was becoming more and more popular, which involved carving each page of
a text into a block of wood after pressing the block onto paper. Books were so
expensive and labor-intensive to manufacture that only the wealthy could afford
them.