In 1448, Johannes Gutenberg (below) established a printing shop and developed a new technology called moveable type. Moveable type was the process in which individual letters (made from lead) could be placed and printed on a page. Afterward, the letters could be reset and reused on separate pages. This technology launched printing presses across Europe because it was less time-consuming than hand-copying and resulted in a cheaper way to produce books.

A portrait of Johannes Gutenberg. He is a middle aged man with a long beard wearing a hat and clothes typical of the fifteenth century.

Source: Gutenberg, Wikimedia

A page from the first bible printed using moveable type by Johannes Gutenberg (1455).

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. Click on the bible page below.

How might the image on the left suggest that moveable type was a quicker and cheaper way to produce a book than hand-copying? Record your answer in your notes.

To get a clearer idea of what moveable type looks like, the image below shows how little each letter of type is in order to create a page of text.

A photograph of movable type letters placed in a block ready for printing. In the background are boxes containing various movable type letters.

Source: Metal movable type, Willi Heidelbach, Wikimedia