Gutenberg Printing Invention

Beginnings of Writing

The earliest printed book was the Diamond Sutra produced in China in 868 CE, although printing had started before that time. The earliest writing was etched into clay tablets with a chisel or stylus or into stone, bone, or wood. Paper first appeared as papyrus, made by Egyptians from the stems of the grass like plant, then later as untanned animal skins the Greeks called parchment. Finally, it’s the paper we know today, invented in China in about 10 CE.

Gutenberg Printing Invention

In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, with moveable type. It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.


The use of movable type was a marked improvement on the handwritten manuscript, which was the existing method of book production in Europe, and upon woodblock printing, and revolutionized European book-making. Gutenberg's printing technology spread rapidly throughout Europe and later the world.

Brief Biography of Gutenberg

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (c. 1398 – February 3, 1468)  was a German printer, publisher, goldsmith, and blacksmith. He is German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher. He is famous as for introducing printing to Europe. His invention of the mechanical movable type printing (c. 1439) is said to have started the "Printing Revolution," considered the most important event of the modern period.

Among his many contributions to printing include the following:

• Invention of a process for mass-producing movable type


• Use of oil-based ink


• Use of a wooden printing press similar to the agricultural screw presses of the period.

More significant in his invention was the combination of the above into a practical system that allowed the mass production of printed books that made printing much cheaper and more accessible.

His major work, the Gutenberg Bible, more commonly known as the "42-line Bible"  has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.

Related Articles:

Gutenberg - Printing Invention and Timeline of Writing

The Digital Gutenberg Project