About Gutenberg and the printing press

1.The Gutenberg press was the first printing press in the world. It was set up by Gutenberg in Germany in 1448. Before the invention of this press books were written by hand and they were very costly. So the poor people could not afford to buy them. The Gutenberg press ensured that books reach the common people.

2. The Gutenberg press had a long handle attached to the screw. This handle was used to turn the screw and press down the platen over the printing block that was placed on top of a sheet of damp paper. Gutenberg developed metal types for each of the 26 characters of the Roman alphabet and devised a way of moving them around to compose different words of the text.

3.It came to be known as the movable type printing machine. This machine remained the basic print Technology over the next three centuries. Books could now be produced much faster than what was possible before. The Gutenberg press could print 250 sheets on one side per hour.

4. The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took 3 years to print them.