History

The impacts of the Printing Press on European society

In 1900 B.C. the Chinese advanced their own way of writing and had started printing with the moveable clay type from 11th century A.D. by Pi Sheng from China. In 6th century A.D. Chinese had already had learned the art of wooden block printing. The relevant way of printing by then was with wood block printing (Piechota, 2002). The method of wood block printing was very time consuming and expensive. The Chinese invention of the moveable printing press did not influence the Chinese society at that time. Later, the moveable, variable-width, metal type printing press was invented in 1450 by Gutenberg in the German city of Mainz which was revolutionary in European society. The invention of Gutenberg’s moveable type printing press developed the original and expanded the role of printing in the development of the human civilization. The invention of the printing press is considered one of the greatest achievements in the history of European society (Dittmar, 2011). The printing press is a machine which helps in mass producing books and other reading materials by transferring images and letters to different forms with the use of inked surfaces onto paper (Kries, 2004). The invention of the printing press generated a tremendous buzz in Europe within a short period of time which influenced cultural change and rapid development. Gutenberg was the first person who approached and exhibited the moveable type printing press (King College, 2012). This new kind of printing press which was durable and economically feasible compared to any other printing press which had already been invented. The moveable printing press was considered the most durable and efficient and was suitable for printing high quality books and other papers. Gutenberg was not only the inventor of the moveable printing press but also invented the oil based ink necessary for printing. The printing press was widely accepted by...