The Gutenberg Printing Press And Spread Of Protestant Reformation

You have a clean smooth blank paper and are ready to print your document. You place it in the printer paper try and hit the print button. Seconds later, you have a clean, comprehensible, perfectly printed document. Indeed, the invention and innovation of printers have made it much easier, quicker and more convenient for us to have a printed copy of whatever document we need.

With the best printers, these have also made it possible for many people to make a business out of it, from book printing, t-shirt printing, stickers, mugs, and so much more. This truly shows how important printers are not only for personal and office use, but for creating a business out of it as well.

The Invention of the Printing Press and Spread of Protestant Reformation

In 1448, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press and had quite a considerable influence on the spread and dissemination of ideas and philosophies in and out of Europe. Printing technology have swiftly gone round Europe and played a major role in the realization of the Protestant Reformation as that time was a period of significant religious change. Martin Luther, the reformation leader, was only able to preach to a few of people. However, with the invention of the printing press, the printed word spread his preaching to a much greater number of people. This was pointed out by Mark U. Edwards from the Harvard Divinity School.

• Cost of Book Production and Price of Books. With Gutenberg’s invention, the cost of book production as well as other printed materials were cut. Before the invention, producing multiple book copies means copying the entire text by hand which was a painstaking and very much time-consuming, an occupation typically done by monks. One copy of a Bible may necessitate 300 treated sheepskins or 170 treated calfskins. The invention made printing on paper faster and way much cheaper.
• The Gutenberg Bible. Gutenberg’s printing press made reproductions of the Bible, which were the first books they printed. The Gutenberg Bibles were hugely popular. In fact, all 200 copies of the Bible that were to be printed were already sold prior to the completion of the printing.