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808 BCE
Woodblock Printing: The Diamond Sutra
The first known printed book The Diamond Sutra is printed with wood blocks on paper. It was produced in China.
This is the first recorded time in history of there being a technique similar to printing. So even though it’s not as convenient as our printing today, at that time it was probably so much easier than having one person sit down and write everything down by hand. It probably also took less time using the wood blocks than doing it all by hand. -
1440
Revolutionary Printing Press - Johann Gutenberg
German Johann Gutenberg invents movable type by developing foundry-cast metal characters and a wooden printing press.
Even though we know that this wasn’t the first invention of a printing press, it has been the most revolutionary in people’s eyes. This invention made it much easier to print the books in great amounts. It also made all the letters look identical, and there wasn't much difference in the beauty of the artwork between the printed out versions and the handwritten versions. -
1455
First Latin BIble - Gutenberg Pt 2
Instead of having their beliefs told to them by the church. So now some people could even defy what the church said and tell them that they were wrong because they interpreted the bible differently. This gave the people a lot of power over their own beliefs and in return took away power from the church because they were no longer the only place where people could listen to God’s words. -
1455
First Latin Bible - Gutenberg
This was the first mass printing production of the Bible, and because of that, they were able to spread the possession of books. This revolutionized the religious beliefs of the people at the time because they were now able to read what the bible said instead of listening to the church’s interpretation of it. This may have resulted in the decline of the power of the church because people could now make their own opinions about what it was that God said. -
1460
Effect on Languages
The printing press allowed more people to learn different languages through dictionaries. Not everyone knew how to read or write, but it became a necessity when the printing press came around. There was an acceleration of education in the middle classes. New words were also created, and people had different ways to express themselves. This lead to critical thinking and questioning norms and beliefs. The printing press also allowed people to document their new findings. -
1475
The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye
Englishman William Caxton produces the first book printed in English, The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye.
This was a very big development in people’s cultures at the time because the book was a work of fiction and therefore depicted what their day-to-day lives were like. But it also gave the people of the time the ability to share their imagination. -
1475
The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye Pt 2
And since the stories were now being printed and they were sold for a cheaper price more people could enjoy them. Reading was no longer a privilege that only the very rich had. Normal people could now read these works and they would too spread the ideas that were presented in the books, and maybe even develop new ideas all on their own. -
1500
Impact on the Economy
When the printing press was invented in 1400-1500, cities that had printing presses improved drastically. Similar cities with no printing press didn’t show any growth or advancement. It made the cities more culturally dynamic and attracted migrants to the cities. Ideas, education, and business practices all thrived in the wake of the printing press. -
1500
Impact on the Economy Pt 2
The printing press allowed education to become accessible to more people, therefore more people were educated. This meant that people could get jobs, start businesses and therefore making cities thrive through the economy. It also allowed newspapers to make more money. -
1517
Protestant Reformations
The conflict between the Protestants and Catholics was an open conflict, and each side needed the support of the public. The printing press was a weapon, it was used to influence the public. Protestants printed proliferate revolutionary theological books/sheets, while the Catholic Church produced mass quantities of anti-Protestant material. -
1517
Protestant Reformations Pt 2
The printing press greatly influenced religion, because the two opposing sides needed to get their information out as fast as possible, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the printing press. This is also a political impact because it shows the declining power of the Church. It was also a cultural impact because the Protestant prints opened new ideas to the common people. -
Cultural Impact
The printing press helped spread information quickly and accurately. This created a higher amount of literate people in cities. More books that separated religion were being printed as well. This helped increase the development of science and helped spreads scientific knowledge between scholars and scientists to compare work. -
Cultural Impact Pt 2
The printing press had negative affects to the Church. The Church could no longer censor work, and took book copying out of the Church’s hands. People could express their ideas freely. There were too many copies going around, the Church couldn’t get to them on time. The reason Martin Luther had success with the Protestant Reformation is because he had the printing press. -
Stephen Day's Books Pt 2
The fact that books had now reached most countries in the world at the time was a very exciting development for education as well. Since the immigrants that first arrived in the new world were very poor it was amazing that they had the ability to read. The knowledge was now not just reserved for those that had more money but also for those that didn’t have much at all. This may have also been a development for the economy because printing books produced more jobs for people. -
Stephen Day's Books
Stephen Day prints Freeman's Oath and An Almanack in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the first books published in the American colonies. This is also a very big development in the culture of the people at that time. Because the ideas of books was now brought to the new world were they could continue to make their own ideas. -
The Gentleman's Magazine
The periodical is intended for entertainment and includes essays, stories, poems and political commentary
This had to have been the biggest step taken in the political front at the time. People didn’t have to meet in person anymore to share their ideas on the government. -
The Gentleman's Magazine Pt 2
They also didn’t even have to hang around a very elite group of people in order to learn about the politics of your country. It also expanded people’s thoughts and ideas. It was also a way for people to know about books and famous stories of their time without having to read them if they didn’t want to, and this just adds to the expansion of people’s ideas and experiences. -
Point System - Pierre Fournier
Pierre Fournier developed the point system to measure type sizes. His system is further refined by Francois Didot, establishing consistency in type measure throughout the world.
It was innovative because it told people that writing didn’t have to be the same font and size. People were inspired to create their own type of writing, and it added to the creativity that could be used in books. It gave the people that couldn’t do calligraphy a chance to write in their own way. -
Encyclopaedia Britannica - Scotland
This was a major milestone for people’s education at the time. Since it was a way for people to keep informed of the occurrences in their world. It was also an easier way to educate people without them going to school. The whole idea was just a great idea to keep as many people as possible informed of major events. And it also gave the people that had access to one a chance at spreading the knowledge that they possessed so that the world overall was more educated. -
Cast Iron Printer - Lord Stanhope
Lord Stanhope, a British statesman, and scientist built the first printing press made entirely out of cast iron.
It greatly increased the rigidity of the press and further improved the efficiency. The output only increased by a little bit, from 200 to 250. This made printing more efficient because the cast iron was sturdier than wood and easier. Although the output only increased by a little bit, it was still a difference which improved the printing press. -
The American Dictionary of the English Language
Noah Webster, often referred to as the “father of his country's language,” published the American Dictionary of the English Language in an attempt to encourage American independence in both written and spoken English. Before the printing press, books were expensive since they were harder to make. -
The American Dictionary of the English Language Pt 2
After, the process of making books became easier, and books became available for common people. Libraries had more books, and people who could not afford books could now buy them since the amount of human labor was decreased. Religious education was also spread since the Catholic Church used the printing press to print bibles. -
Cylinder Press - Richard Hoe
The Cylinder Press was invented by Richard Hoe.
It could print 8000 sheets per hour. This helped spread education, and it was faster to use. It was a drastic improvement from the cast iron printer, and it made books more accessible to everyone. -
Linotype Machine - Ottmar Mergenthaler
The Linotype Machine was invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler. It was the first machine that could easily set complete lines of the type used in printing presses. It revolutionized the newspaper industry and helped speed up the printing process. The Compositor was its competitor, but the Linotype Machine had more success due to its simplicity and mechanistic nature.
