1436 – Gutenberg starts working on a printing press

Find the words: ксилогравюра, рельефный, писец, пергамент, наборный (подвижный) шрифт, печатный станок, свинец, шрифт, рукописные символы, курсив

Questions:

1) What is a woodblock?

2) How large was the Cambridge library and what does the number of books illustrate?

3) What is a palimpsest?

4) How does the printing press work?

5) What was the real innovation of Gutenberg?

6) Why was the publisher of Gutenberg Bibles accused of witchcraft?

7) What is the Roman type?

8) How did Albrecht Durer become popular?

9) Who produced first portable books?

1423 – First woodcut printing on paper

Even though woodcut is already used for printing on cloth for over a century, the first European woodcut printing on paper happens in the early 15th century. It is used for printing religious images and playing cards. Woodcut is a relief printing technique in which text and images are carved into the surface of a block of wood. The printing parts remain level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with a knife or chisel. The wood block is then inked and the substrate pressed against the wood block. The ink is made of lampblack (soot from oil lamps) mixed with varnish or boiled linseed oil. This printing technique is also called block printing. The first block books are produced in Germany and Holland around 1430.

Books are still rare since they need to be laboriously handwritten by scribes. The University of Cambridge has one of the largest libraries in Europe – constituting of just 122 books.

The parchment that books are written on is so expensive that books that are no longer relevant are not thrown away. The old text is scraped off and replaced by a new one. These reused books are called palimpsests. Using UV light historians can often still read the original text, making these books an important source for ancient texts.

1436 – Gutenberg starts working on a printing press

It takes him four years to finish his wooden press which uses movable metal type. This type consists of individual letters set in lead. After inking the type, a sheet of paper is put on top. Next, the frame is shoved to the right underneath the platen. By moving the large handle pressure is applied to make sure the ink is transferred to the paper. Afterward, the bed is moved back to its original position and the paper can be removed.

The press itself is based on the wine presses that were already in use for centuries in that region. Relief printing, through woodblock printing, also isn’t new. Movable type had already been used in the East. What Gutenberg does is bring these various technologies, including the proper type of ink, together. His real innovation is the molding system that enables a printer to create as many lead characters as are needed for printing a book or pamphlet.

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