The History and Impact of the Printing Press Essay -- Technology

Everyday people read newspapers and books, but where did printing begin? The movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg made this all possible. Johannes first conceived of this idea of the printing press in the 15th century in order to speed up the slow process of producing books (Bantwal). The movable type printing press, the first real technology of its kind, helped to solve problems, but in turn also caused problems. This technology did influence many areas of life in its lifespan. This includes challenging the church and poisoning people with the increased toxins from mass products of materials. Depending on one’s point of view, this invention could be the best or worst thing to happen during the 15th century. Regardless of that, the printing press’s influence was widespread and therefore, was a great invention for the machine’s time. Despite the negative repercussions of Gutenberg’s movable printing press, the machine is a positive technology. Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press in the year 1452. Four other technologies that were more or less common to different parts of the world, made the printing press possible. The first technology was a wine/olive in the screw-press, which areas of Asia and Europe used to obtain oils and create wines. The second invention was block-print technology that Marco Polo originally brought to Europe. A third technology is oil-based ink that was invented in the eleven hundreds. Since this ink smears on vellum, printing did not use this ink. Vellum was costly, but durable so books that took awhile to make utilized this material. Finally, the fourth material was paper, which many process make different forms of all over the globe (Bantwal). Gutenberg used these old technologies ... ...to thank. Everyone should know the origins of many of the technologies in the world and many of those do lead straight back to the printing press. Without this invention, the world would have stayed in the dark ages for generations. People, as a species would not be anywhere close to what we have achieved. Works Cited Bantwal, Natasha. "History of the Printing Pres." Buzzle.com: Intelligent Life on the Web. Buzzle.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Beach, Justin. "Pros of the Printing Press." EHow. Demand Media, 08 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Jensen, Carolyn. "Jensen Review." Rev. of The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe. Lore. San Diego State University. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. "Printing Press." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Ross, Tiffany. "Negative Effects of the Printing Press." EHow. Demand Media, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.