How did the printing press come about?

An invention, without which today it is difficult to imagine the general literacy of the population, is a printing press. Undoubtedly, this machine has changed the world for the better. But when did it appear in our everyday life and what is its history?

Today, the scientific world is of the opinion that the first printing press was built by German businessman Johann Guttenberg. However, there are reliable facts that similar devices were used by people and much earlier. Still the inhabitants of ancient Babylon put on the clay of the seal with the help of paint and a stamp. In the first century AD, fabrics decorated with ornaments were common in Asia and Europe. In the times of ancient culture, stamps were put on papyrus, and the Chinese had a paper on which prayers were printed with the help of wooden patterns, already in the second century of our era.

In Europe, the publication of books was the lot of monasteries. At first they corresponded by monks by hand. Then they made a page template and stamped it, but this process was a long one, and for a new book a new model was needed.

Almost immediately, the carved boards were replaced with letters of metal, which were applied with an oil-based ink using a press. It is believed that the reception of loose font was first used by Gutenberg (1436). It is his signature that adorns the most ancient printing press. However, the French and the Dutch dispute this fact, arguing that such an important machine was invented by their compatriots.

So, to the question of who invented the printing press, most of our contemporaries will say that it was Johann Guttenberg. He was born in Mainz in a family from the old noble family of Gonzfleishey. It is for certain unknown why he left his hometown, took up his trade and took the name of his mother. However, in Strasbourg, he accomplished the main invention of the century.

Machine Tool

How his printing press was arranged, Gutenberg concealed. However, today it can be argued that in the beginning it was wooden. There is news that his first font existed in the sixteenth century. Each letter had a hole in which the rope, connecting the typed lines, was passed. But the tree is not good enough material for such a thing. The letters eventually swelled or dried, making the printed text uneven. Therefore, Gutenberg began to cut out a stamp of lead or tin, and then cast the letters - it turned out much easier and faster. The printing press actually acquired its modern look.

The machine for book printing worked like this: originally, the letters were made in mirror form. Hitting them with a hammer, the master received prints on a copper plate. So the right number of letters were produced, which were used many times. Then words and lines were added from them. The first products of Gutenberg were the grammar of Donat (thirteen editions) and calendars. Having acquired skill, he ventured on a more complicated matter: the first printed Bible had 1,286 pages and 3,400,000 characters. The edition was colorful, with pictures, and capital letters were drawn by artists manually.

The Gutenberg case continued. In Russia such a machine appeared in 1563, when on the orders of Ivan the Terrible Fedorov built his car.