Gutenberg

Johann Gensfleisch was born in Mainz, Germany about 1397 and as was the custom of patrician families in that era, was known by his mother's family name, Gutenberg. Through early experiments in metallurgy and manufacturing items to sell to pilgrims, Gutenberg saw that the key to profits was inexpensive mass production. Gutenberg's astute sense of what was marketable led him to take his first steps into printing.

Printing was not unknown, as woodblock printing had been practiced in the East for some centuries. In Europe, woodblocks were used for the printing of textiles and playing cards. Gutenberg took pains not to reinvent the wheel. Over an approximately twenty-year period, he adapted existing technologies such as the winepress, textile presses, and hand presses used by papermakers and bookbinders to construct his printing press. But essential to this press was the invention of an adjustable hand-mold which would allow the casting of thousands of letters efficiently and with precision. In addition, a special ink needed to be devised. Gutenberg's ink formula, oil paint with a high copper and lead content, is still black and glossy after 500 years. He devised such a remarkably effective technique, that the principles of his invention remain unchanged to this day. Gutenberg's contributions rendered obsolete the handwritten books of his age.