Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450, which allowed for mass production of printed materials. Before the printing press, all books were painstakingly handwritten by monks. Gutenberg's printing press used movable metal type that could be reused to print multiple copies of a page, making book production much faster and more affordable. In 1456, Gutenberg printed 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible, the first major book printed using movable type. The widespread availability of printed materials led to increased literacy and a proliferation of ideas, fueling the Renaissance and changing society.

1. THE Printing Press
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THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION IN HISTORY

2. THINK JUST FOR FIVE SECONDS IN THIS PRODUCTS
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3. NONE OF THE PRINTED ITEMS WE ENJOY TODAY
WOULD BE AROUND WITHOUT ONE MAN.
Johann
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Gutenberg
The inventor of the
Printing Press
in 1450
He was a
GOLDSMITHING

4. Before the printing press in 1450, books were written out
by hand, mainly by monks in monasteries.
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It could take one person six months or longer to write out a book, word for
word and page by page.

5. Books were expensive to produce. If a book was to survive, it had to
be copied over and over, every generation.
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This is a page
from
“CANTERBURY
TALES” by
Geoffrey Chaucer.
It was handwritten
about 1400.

6. This printing press had pieces of metal type that could be used over
and over again to print pages of text.
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7. Johann Gutenberg mixed oil and soap together to make ink.
In 1456, he made 180 copies of the first printed book: a Bible.
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Only 49 copies of these Bibles survive today. The last
time a Gutenberg Bible sold, it went for $2.4 million.

8. Before the Printing Press, woodblock printing was common. A
sheet of paper was laid over an inked piece of wood and an
impression was taken by rubbing.
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Gutenberg broke up the text into lower and upper case letters and
punctuation marks.

9. IMAGINE WHAT THIS KNOWLEDGE MEANT TO THE COMMON PEOPLE. INSTEAD OF
HAVING TO TAKE THE CHURCH’S OR THE KING’S WORD ON SOMETHING, THEY
COULD LEARN TO READ AND FORM THEIR OWN OPINION.
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10. RENAISSANCE ALL OVER EUROPE.
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The importance of Gutenberg’s invention caused him to be
named the most influential person in the past 1,000 years
by the Biography Channel.