Why Is Gutenberg Printing Press Important?

Many ideas and inventions originated during the time period known as the Medieval Era. All of these innovations were contributing factors to the future of society as a whole. They were building blocks on which new ideas and inventions could be made to either improve existing tools and methods, or to stimulate new creations. Man has always been looking for ways to innovate past items and inventions used. Many inventions were very important and had a great impact to the world during this time period. One invention that can really be considered a milestone is the Gutenberg Printing Press. For most inventions, there were always forerunners, idea-givers, and creators that inspire great ideas. In the Gutenberg Printing Press the same concept was present. There were other people, and cultures, that inspired the idea of movable type, which is one of the early printing processes. This was the process that Gutenberg used in his Printing Press. The Gutenberg Printing Press impacted the world in multiple ways, thus changing the manner in which things like writings, books, information, and news were recorded and transmitted. One of the ways that the Printing Press impacted the world was how it changed literacy and how …show more content…
Haven (2006) writes, “Copies of documents had always been made by hand – most commonly by monks” (p. 48). Haven mentions this when writing about life before the Press. Haven also writes that, “Over the next 45 years, more than 500 publishers created Gutenberg-like presses and printed over one million books!” (p. 50). When Gutenberg created the movable type, he wanted to resemble the handwriting of a scribe, which was normally square and compact (Feinstein, 2008, p. 67). The idea of the Press really impacted cultures around the world. The production of books and book-making increased significantly. Because books were made faster, knowledge could be spread quicker, impacting how things would be done in the