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There were some outright rebellions against the invention.

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Figure 1: Johannes Gutenberg's invention - the printing press

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The first printed text was made in around 868 A.D in China (History.com Editors, “Printing Press”).

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However, in 1436, Johannes Gutenberg made the first printing press using many of the techniques that China had been using for hundreds of years. What was different with his invention is that it was a machine that would use blocks with letters to print words, while in China, it was done manually (History.com Editors, “Printing Press”).

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1. How did people respond to the invention at the time?

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1. How did people respond to the invention at the time?

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The printing press benefited German workers who had worked for Gutenberg, as they could become printers, make money from this newfound trade and teach it to others. They travelled to various European countries (France, Spain, England, Belgium) to spread this invention (History.com Editors, “Printing Press”).

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People quickly grew used to the printing press. Mass distribution of books quickly grew in shipping ports, as captains would buy books that he would sell in foreign lands. There, paid readers would read the news in front of a crowd. People quickly grew acclimated to this practice and gathered to hear the news everyday.

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Politicians saw the printing press as an opportunity to garner interest through pamphlets, as they were a brand-new and impressive product to most people (“The Invention and History of the Printing Press”). It also increased the reach and influence that the government could have, as they could now instill rules easier by informing more people, instead of relying on rumors and word of mouth to spread information.

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At first, noble families looked down on printed books since books written by hand were a sign of luxury. This is why press-printed materials were more popular with lower classes (“The Invention and History of the Printing Press”).

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Since printed books were more popular with impoverished people, it contributed to the decreasing illiteracy and poverty rates in the world, as they had a higher supply of books. The increase in education also contributed to a smaller gap between the noble and the working class.

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Some civilians were worried about the spread of misinformation, as it was easy to create pamphlets that said anything (Thomson). However, since education and literacy in the community also increased, people were able to think for themselves, especially since they had a variety of sources available and had to learn how to sort out misinformation. Also, since authors had to write their names on the books, their work was tied to their reputation, thus improving their accuracy (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION).

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Moreover, information used to be passed in the form of rumor, or people had to make a oath in the name of God to tell the truth (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION). It would be extremely easy for people to create misinformation, while with written documents, the information would be preserved and could be used as evidence for people to back up their claims.

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Additionally, civilians were worried that the printing press would mean that people would be more forgetful, as they used to memorize information to pass on to others (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION).

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When one early merchant tried to sell his printed books in Paris, he was chased out by the Scribe's Guild, who called his product witchcraft, a strong accusation that could bring burnings at the stake and inquisitions (Thomson). The Scribe's Guild did not want to be put out of business, so they attempted to silence the new invention in their city, but this clearly did not work long-term.

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The Scribe Guild would smash presses and intimidate printers. One such scribe wrote that “Printed books will never be the equivalent of handwritten codices, especially since printed books are often deficient in spelling and appearance.” (Thomson)

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As a rebellion, religious leaders often called the books "Devil's Work" and printers needed to have the church's permission to print books, creating censorship within the community. However, this did not work, as printing shops would just print the most profitable books, which just so happened to be the books banned by the church (Thomson).

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What was the printing press' impact at the time?

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What was the printing press' impact at the time?

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The invention did create new jobs (librarians, printers, writers etc.) as the demand for books increased and new printing shops and libraries were opened, as well as the creation of the newspaper industry (History.com Editors, “Printing Press”).

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With poverty decreasing, families would be able to send more children to schools, meaning that the demand for teachers also increased, as well as the demand for paper for schoolbooks, making education and paper an ever-growing industry with more jobs created everyday. This also improved both the quality of life and the economy of any country that had access to this invention.

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Furthermore, some jobs were preserved. For example, before the printing press was invented, artists would draw on the borders and margins of the books and then others would bind the books and sow the pages together (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION). This practice was retained even after the invention, as that had not been optimized at the time. This also meant that as more books were printed, the demand for such workers increased and their practice and skill could still be carried on generation to generation.

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Now books could be made inexpensively, meaning it was easy to access any types of ideas and viewpoints (Roos). Since people could now have multiple differing viewpoints available to them, their critical thinking increased, as they were able to choose what they wanted to believe in.

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Since the printing press, Luther was able to spread his message to more people, selling 5,000 copies in around 2 weeks (Roos). His books inspired German peasants to revolt in 1524 (History.com Editors, “The Reformation”).

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With the inexpensive printing of any type of books containing unorthodox ideas, writers such as Martin Luther were able to publish books that went against the church. While he wasn't the first one to go against the church, usually the few works would be quickly destroyed and the person responsible for them killed (Roos).

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In Paris, the printing press was used in libraries to print more works, especially textbooks for students (History.com Editors, “Printing Press”).

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This helped spread education to more children in the country, which in turn, would improve the economy as higher-paying jobs are occupied and those students may potentially make inventions or businesses that would benefit the country. It also improves the quality of life in the country by decreasing poverty.

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However, there were some drawbacks. Many of the early printers would sell the books for the same price as hand-written books, turning a much higher profit (Thomson). This would create a disbalance in the economy and social hierarchy of a country, as the printers were significantly more rich.

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Why is it a significant innovation? How has it affected the world? 

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Why is it a significant innovation? How has it affected the world? 

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The printing press created the idea that machines were capable of stealing jobs, as many scribes who had spent years perfecting their skill were rendered obsolete in a few years (Roos). The printing press influenced many revolts against machines in the later years.

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For example, the "Luddite Movement" in the 18th century was completely based on the revolt against machines, meaning that their roots could be traced all the way back to this invention.

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Science was stunted before the invention of the printing press, and scientists were separated by geography, slow publishing of books, and language. The papers that did get published were often riddled with human error, making their data and findings unreliable (Roos).

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In fact, the printing press has also helped the Renaissance, one of the most influential periods in the world's history (Roos).

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It would cost a lot of money and time to publish classic texts by Plato and Aristotle, which is why only a few people could attempt to do this. However, with the printing press, not only were these books more easily accessible to the average person, it was also easier to publish these works (Roos).

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The printing press has helped important literary works and ideas stay relevant and accessible even after hundreds of years. Without it, our perception of philosophy, science and history would be significantly altered.

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The printing press was also the cause for the creation of copyright laws, as printing presses could print anything without much resistance (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION). This is now extremely prevalent, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence and renewed fear of plagiarism. Back then and now it allows authors to be responsible and known for their work and ideas.

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Latin, the language of scholars and scientists, went extinct due to the printing press, as regional languages became more popular in newspapers and books (“The Invention and History of the Printing Press”). This also meant that science did not have a standardized language anymore, meaning that scholars would have to translate scientific works (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION). This could lower the accuracy, as translated works may sound differently than intended. Not only did this result in one of the largest languages going extinct, it also has affected the accuracy of scientific works and meaning of the ideas within them.

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On the positive side, the printing press helped standardize written language and grammar, making it easier for people in the future to learn to read and write in the language (“The Invention and History of the Printing Press”). This allowed languages to be preserved, which allowed historians now to mark the evolution of language and understand old texts.

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While Muslim countries used to be advanced in arts science and literature, their rigid views on printed materials caused Europe to catch up. Muslims believed that Arabic was sacred and thus only handwritten were appropriate. Until the 1800's printing was banned in most Muslim countries and meanwhile the Renaissance occurred in Europe, with the printing press facilitating the spread of ideas and inventions (CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION). This ultimately caused Muslim countries to be behind in technology for hundreds of years and the future of Europe to be more innovative and profitable.

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This is likely why Europe remained at the top of the food chain when it came to technology and economy, especially during the Age of Exploration. At that time, their military and innovations allowed them to travel across continents and continue to profit off of the land there. The ripple effect from the printing press continued to positively affect Europe until this day.

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---. “The Reformation.” 2009. HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 11 Apr. 2019, www.history.com/topics/religion/reformation. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION. “BRIA 24 3 B Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution in Europe.” Online Lessons - Bill of Rights in Action, season-04 2009, teachdemocracy.org/online-lessons/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-24-3-b#:~:text=Johann%20Gutenberg's%20invention%20of%20movable,split%20apart%20the%20Catholic%20Church. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.

History.com Editors. “Printing Press.” 2018. HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 29 June 2023, www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

Roos, Dave. “7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World.” HISTORY, 27 Mar. 2023, www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

“The Invention and History of the Printing Press.” PsPrint, www.psprint.com/resources/printing-press/#:~:text=Gutenberg's%20invention%20made%20a%20dramatic,popular%20with%20the%20lower%20classes. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

Thomson, Jonny. “People Destroyed Printing Presses Out of Fear. What Will We Do to AI?” Big Think, 6 Apr. 2023, bigthink.com/the-past/printing-press-ai. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

Figure 1:

Trinity College Library, Cambridge University. “The First Printing Press in New Mexico.” National Park Service, www.nps.gov/articles/000/images/american-printing-history.jpg?maxwidth=650&autorotate=false&quality=78&format=webp.

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This caused many revolts and the invention of the printing press has even been tied to the Protestant Reformation, which created Protestantism (Roos). This has influenced religion and culture to this day, as around 900 million people follow this religion.