The question of “Who Made The Printing Press” doesn’t have a simple answer. While Johannes Gutenberg is widely celebrated for the printing press, the story is far more nuanced and spans centuries and continents. The concept of printing existed long before Gutenberg, with significant advancements originating in China centuries earlier. Understanding who truly “made” the printing press requires exploring a rich history of innovation across cultures.
Early Printing Press Pioneers in China
Long before Gutenberg’s era, China was at the forefront of printing technology. In fact, the oldest known printed text comes from China, dating back to the first millennium A.D.
The Dawn of Block Printing: The Diamond Sutra
Around 868 A.D., during the Tang Dynasty, The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist scripture discovered in Dunhuang, China, emerged as the earliest complete printed book we know of. This remarkable book was created using block printing, a technique involving carving text and images onto wooden blocks, inking them, and then pressing them onto paper.
Numerous other printed materials from Dunhuang have survived from this period, including calendars (one from around A.D. 877), mathematical charts, vocabulary guides, etiquette manuals, funeral and wedding instructions, educational materials for children, dictionaries, and almanacs. This early printing era marked a shift from rolled scrolls to book formats and was also adopted in Japan and Korea. Notably, metal block printing also developed during this period in East Asia, predominantly for Buddhist and Taoist texts.
Bi Sheng and the Innovation of Movable Type
While block printing was a significant advancement, it was Bi Sheng, a Chinese artisan from Yingshan, Hubei, who revolutionized printing with movable type. Living from approximately 970 to 1051 A.D., Bi Sheng developed a system where individual characters were crafted and could be rearranged and reused, offering immense flexibility compared to fixed woodblocks.
Bi Sheng’s initial movable type was made from baked clay. These clay characters were set in an iron frame and pressed against an iron plate to print. Shen Kuo, a renowned scientist, documented Bi Sheng’s invention in his book Dream Pool Essays (1086), noting that Bi Sheng preferred baked clay over wood due to wood’s inconsistent texture and tendency to absorb moisture and stick to ink. Baked clay offered better reusability.
By the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), the impact of printing was evident. Books became widespread, fostering a scholarly class essential for civil service. Large book collections also became symbols of wealth and status.
Wang Chen and Wooden Movable Type Refinement
In 1297, Wang Chen, a magistrate of Ching-te, revitalized wooden movable type. He printed Nung Shu, a treatise on agriculture, demonstrating significant improvements in wood type technology.
Wang Chen developed methods to enhance the durability and precision of wood type. He also introduced a revolving table for typesetters, dramatically improving efficiency and printing speed. Nung Shu is recognized as the world’s first mass-produced book and was even exported to Europe. Interestingly, it documented numerous Chinese inventions that were later mistakenly attributed to Europeans. Wang Chen’s woodblock printing methods remained in use in China for centuries.
Johannes Gutenberg and the European Printing Revolution
About 150 years after Wang Chen’s innovations, the printing press emerged in Europe, largely thanks to Johannes Gutenberg. A goldsmith and inventor exiled from Mainz, Germany, Gutenberg began experimenting with printing around 1440 in Strasbourg. By 1450, after returning to Mainz, he had perfected his printing machine, the Gutenberg press, ready for commercial use.
Gutenberg’s Key Innovations: Metal Movable Type and the Printing Press
Gutenberg’s genius lay in adapting movable type for European languages and mechanizing the printing process. He replaced wood with metal for type and developed a system of individual letter blocks, creating the European version of movable type.
To produce type in large quantities, Gutenberg employed replica casting. He created reversed letter molds in brass and then used these to cast replicas from molten lead. Some researchers suggest he might have used sand-casting, using carved sand to create molds. These metal letters were designed to fit together uniformly, creating straight lines and consistent columns on the page.
Gutenberg also invented a new oil-based ink that adhered to metal type, unlike water-based inks used for woodblocks. Furthermore, he adapted a winepress to create his printing press, providing the necessary pressure to transfer ink from the type to paper evenly and efficiently.
The Gutenberg Bible and Early Printed Works
Gutenberg borrowed money from Johannes Fust to finance his printing venture. In 1452, Fust became his partner. They began by printing calendars, pamphlets, and other short printed materials.
In 1455, Gutenberg achieved a monumental feat: the Gutenberg Bible. It’s estimated he printed around 180 copies of this 1,300-page masterpiece, with about 60 on vellum (calfskin parchment). Each page featured 42 lines of text in Gothic type, double columns, and some colored letters. The Bible required 300 unique letter blocks and 50,000 sheets of paper. Many fragments and 21 complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible survive today, including four vellum copies.
Gutenberg’s Legacy and Peter Schoffer
In 1455, Fust foreclosed on Gutenberg, leading to a lawsuit where Gutenberg lost his equipment to Fust and Peter Schoffer, a former calligrapher. Gutenberg likely continued printing on a smaller scale until around 1460, possibly due to declining eyesight. He died in 1468.
Peter Schoffer took over Gutenberg’s press and is considered a technically superior printer. Within two years, he produced an acclaimed edition of The Book of Psalms, featuring a three-color title page and varied typefaces. This edition notably included a colophon, detailing publication information, for the first time in history. Ten copies of this edition still exist.
The Rapid Spread of Printing Across Europe and Its Global Impact
The printing trade expanded rapidly, driven by German printers who had worked with Gutenberg and disseminated their knowledge. Italy was next to adopt printing in 1465, followed by successful printing businesses by Italian printers by 1470.
German printers were invited to Paris in 1470 to establish presses at the Sorbonne, primarily for producing textbooks. By 1476, other German printers had set up private printing companies in Paris. Spain welcomed German printers in 1473 in Valencia and Barcelona by 1475. Portugal invited printers to Lisbon in 1495.
William Caxton introduced printing to England in 1476. An Englishman who had lived in Bruges, he learned printing in Cologne in 1471 to publish his translations. Upon returning to England, he established a press in Westminster Abbey, serving the monarchy until his death in 1491.
The printing press revolutionized the world. The widespread dissemination of ideas challenged established power structures in Europe. In 1501, Pope Alexander VI threatened excommunication for unauthorized printing. However, the works of reformers like John Calvin and Martin Luther spread widely, fulfilling the Pope’s fears. Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, challenging Church doctrine, was also printed.
By 1605, the first official newspaper, Relation, was printed in Strasbourg. Newspapers emerged across Europe, solidifying the printing press’s contribution to literacy, education, and access to information for the masses.
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Sources
The Invention of Printing. Theodore Low De Vinne.
500 Years of Printing. S.H. Steinberg.
Printer’s Error: An Irreverent History of Books. Rebecca Romney.
Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Paper and Printing. Joseph Needham, Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin.
Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Patricia Buckley Ebrey.
