gutenberg_org, 3 months ago

German inventor and craftsman Johannes Gutenberg died #OTD in 1468.

His early printing process, and what texts he printed with movable type, are not known in great detail. His later Bibles were printed in such a way as to have required large quantities of type, some estimates suggesting as many as 100,000 individual sorts. In the following decades, punches and copper matrices became standardized in the rapidly disseminating printing presses across Europe. via @wikipedia

#books #printing

An early wooden printing press, depicted in 1568. Such presses could produce up to 240 impressions per hour. Jost Amman - Woodcut illustration in the 1568 book "Ständebuch", reproduced in "Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. (p. 64)" At the left in the foreground, a "puller" removes a printed sheet from the press. The "beater" to his right is inking the forme. In the background, compositors are setting type.