The Printing Press by Johann Gutenberg

The Printing Press There have been many important inventions over the past millennium. Many of them have helped shape society into what it is today. None however have contributed as much to the world as the printing press has. The printing press was invented in the year 1440 by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The printing press consisted of a large press which held plates where movable type could be inserted to spell out entire books page by page. The press was either operated by a large screw or lever which pressed the inked letters onto the sheet of paper.

Once done the letters had to be rearranged to make the next page and then repeated for each new page in the book. This process however slow was much faster than the old method of hand writing the books and great deal cheaper as well. The invention of the printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it spread ideas throughout Europe, forever altered modern society and it gave the common people power and the chance to become literate. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it allowed many important ideas and opinions to be more easily widespread to the general public.

The printing press helped the spread of ideas through the production of books. The ability to mass produce books and pamphlets helped many political leaders spread their views to the public more easily. These views of the political leaders, good or bad were now accessible to the general public. The ability to read leader’s views and form public opinions helped shape the world into what it is today. Printed books also explored ideas on science and technology which helped bring forth scientific knowledge that shaped the scientific revolution.

The press gave freedom to the general public in a new form of expression of thought. People now had a new way of recording their thoughts and sharing it with others. This freedom of expressive print was very liberating for ones message could reach many in a short time. The printing press invention was important to people in many fields for it allowed the political powers to continue to expand, it provides the opportunity to share scientific knowledge and it allowed the public freedom to share in print format. Modern society was affected in many crucial ways because of the printing press.

One of the ways that society is affected by this invention from so many years ago is that it brought about the standardization of spelling and grammar. This was and still is important because it brought about the awareness that in order to properly communicate there would need to be a standardized form of spelling and spelling rules. This set standard form of spelling shaped many languages and made the written communication of them easy in the past and still today. The second way that its affects are noted still today is it helped spread religious views to various corners of the world in print format.

The importance of this is that this source of books such as the bible or other religious books allowed religious views to be read about and shared in the home rather than just being a message listened to at church. It provided common written messages and because of this many religions such as Christianity could be spread easier throughout the world. These religious writings formed a common base for religion to be prevalent today. Another way in which society was affected by the printing press is that it helped the world’s technology advance faster.

People could afford to buy factual books and educate themselves through reading. The more educated that people became, the more they searched for ways to make life better with their knowledge they had acquired from reading books. Today’s society still largely relies on written print as a way to gain knowledge. Modern society and its advancement in written language structure religious followings and technologies advancement are rooted in the history of the printing press and would look much different today if the printing press had not been invented.

The invention of the printing press allowed many ordinary citizens the chance to own a book and learn to read. Before the invention of the printing press the cost and time to make a book limited the owning of a book to the very wealthy. However with the invention of the printing press as well as the newly found knowledge of how to make paper from the Arabs printing books became rather inexpensive and much less time consuming. These important advancements made it so average people could now afford to buy books, people began to learn how to read and therefore more opinions and ideas were spread.

Literacy rates improved and with this knowledge it allowed the common peasants power to understand what was happening in their country. This power of being literate was important because it provided them opportunity to plan to make life better for oneself. Today books still have an importance for having books and being literate is important because if one can read and understand things in their world it gives one choices of how they can interact with others. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium.

Its effects were important in 1440 to spread political, scientific and technological ideas. Its effects are still important today in spelling and grammar, religion and in nonfiction education. It gave people power to be owners of printed material and it promoted a desire to learn to educate oneself to read. The printing press was crucial in the advancement of society. Power in written form is a document to learn from and expand from. The printing press allowed societies historical events and ideas to be documented and allowed man to learn from the past to progress the future.