Gutenberg Printing Press

The machine that made mass literacy possible/Inventions & Discoveries

Johannes Gutenberg's movable-type printing press, developed around 1440, is widely regarded as the most important invention of the second millennium. A single press could produce about 3,600 pages per day, compared to roughly 40 by hand copying. The wooden screw press weighed approximately 270 kg and stood about 2.1 meters tall. Within 50 years of its invention, more than 20 million volumes had been printed in Europe.