Gutenberg printing press
device · 1440 · Middle Ages
A machine for reproducing text: type set from letters, ink and a screw press.
Inventor: Johannes Gutenberg.
What it is made of
- Movable type — has part. Text is set from metal type.
- Screw press — has part. Gutenberg adapted the screw press known from pressing grapes.
Principles and materials it uses
- Paper — uses. The impression is made on paper.
- Mechanical reproduction of information — uses. The press was the first to mechanize the reproduction of text on a mass scale.
- Ink — uses. An impression needs ink; Gutenberg used an oil-based one.
- Codex (book) — uses. The press printed sheets that were bound into codex books.
Where it is used
- Mercator projection — is used in. Maps were printed in large numbers.
- Encyclopedia — is used in. The Encyclopédie was a printed publication.
- Wall calendar — is used in. Printing.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Rotary printing press — evolved into. Cylinders instead of a flat press.
Things built in a similar way
- Jacquard loom — works like. An analogy, not proven influence: both set type and a chain of punched cards are a replaceable pattern that a machine reproduces over and over.
- Cylinder seal — works like. An analogy: both a seal and a press reproduce a pre-carved pattern.
- Printer — works like. A printer is a personal printing press: it transfers an image onto paper.