Printmaking: Introduction

In 1041, movable type was invented in China by Bi Sheng. The use of movable type to generate printed material required each character to be carved into a small block. Several blocks would be arranged to create a word. The blocks would be then be rubbed with ink and pressed onto paper. This was too time-consuming for the Chinese, as their alphabet consisted of numerous characters.  

European languages, on the other hand, did not contain as many letters in the alphabet. The technology of movable type, along with the ideas of a German man led to one of the greatest inventions of all time—the printing press.
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. He obtained a loan and then developed a machine that, with the use of movable type, could efficiently mass produce printed documents and books for the general population. It was much easier and cost-efficient than writing everything out manually! Could you imagine the world today without books, newspapers, magazines, or any other printed documents?