history of printing

History of Printing There have been many inventions that have shaped the world in which we live in. One of the first turning points was the invention of the alphabet, which brought writing and communication. Writing brought the ability record and convey thought and feelings. Printing was another turning point, which raised an intellectual middle class. It made the creation of books, magazines, newspapers, brochures and many other reading materials possible, which play a great and very important role in our day to day lives.
The technological roots of printing came from China. The Chinese developed “rag” paper, a cheap cloth-scrap and plant fiber. With their invention of applying ink to carved wooden blocks, which were used to transfer an image to paper. The Chinese began printing on paper in the seventh century, and they created the Diamond Sutra, the first complete printed book. The paper migrated to Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth century. In the Dark Ages and Middle Ages, long before the printing press was invented, books were expensive and were usually owned by monasteries, educational institutions or extremely rich people.
When Gutenberg invited the printing press in 1445, he forever changed the lives of people in Europe because this led to an increase of education, the scientific revolution and the spread of the Protestant Reformation, which revolutionized the world we live in. Gutenberg made the printing process a lot faster. He was able to reproduce texts in great numbers. Gutenberg’s most significant introduction was known as a “movable type machine or movable metal type.” It is with the movable type machine that he made his very first printed book, which was a reproduction of the Bible. In 1952, Gutenberg created a Latin print Bible, which became his signature work. There were about 300 two-volume Gutenberg Bibles, which were printed on vellum. These Bibles were sold at the Frankfurt Book Fair for 30 florins each, which is about three years of pay for an average clerk. Today, fifty of all Gutenberg Bibles still survive, and it is an incredibly valuable, treasured item for its historical legacy (PsPrint). The Bible was a great tool for the spread of the Church’s influence.
In 1476, William Caxton set up England’s first printing press. Caxton found the printing press to be a great way to expand his mission of promoting popular literature. The Canterbury Tales was one of his first popular editions. Caxton realized that there was a great regional variation, which made it hard for people to understand and communicate with others from their own country. Caxton was a passionate editor, and he determined the diction, spelling and usage for all the books he printed. His enthusiasm won him a good portion of the credit for establishing and standardizing the English language (Geoffrey Rubinstein).
In 1638, Stephen Daye brought the continent’s first press to Cambridge, Massachusetts. By 1640 the press had produced 1,700 copies of the first book printed in colonies, Bay Psalm Book. The printing press quickly became central to political and religious expression in the New World. Writers and printers, like Benjamin Franklin, were heroes of the time. Print was at the heart of the dissemination and defense of visionary ideas that shaped the American Revolution (Geoffrey Rubinstein).
Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press has made a dramatic impact and has allowed us to share large amounts of information quickly and in huge numbers. In fact, it is so important that it has come to be known as one of the most important inventions of all time. It drastically changed the way society evolved. Print technology facilitated a communications revolution that reached deep into human modes of thought and social interaction. Print, along with spoken language, writing and electronic media, is thought of as one of the markers of key historical shifts in communication that have attended social and intellectual transformation (Geoffrey Rubinstein). Thanks to our early Chinese innovators, printing still continues the spread of communication, technology, learning, and entertainment in today’s society around the globe.