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Inventions

Movable Type Printing

Gutenberg (c. 1455) · Mainz

Cast lead-tin-antimony type, composed into pages, inked with oil-based ink, and pressed with a modified wine-press. The book — until then copied by hand — became a mass-produced object, and with it, literacy, science, and revolution.

Key specifications

Gutenberg

c. 1455 · Mainz

Prior art

China (Bi Sheng), Korea (Jikji)

Cost drop

~300×

Enabled

Reformation · Enlightenment

Sheet 007 · Plate 1 of 1 · 1:1 infographic

Movable Type Printing
FIG. 007 — Movable Type PrintingBlueprint Atlas · Inventions

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