The printing press is a device that allows for the mass production of uniform printed matter, mainly text in the form of books, pamphlets and newspapers. Created in China, the printing press revolutionized society there before being further developed in Europe in the 15th Century by Johannes Gutenberg and his invention of the Gutenberg press.
When Was the Printing Press Invented?
No one knows when the first printing press was invented or who invented it, but the oldest known printed text originated in China during the first millennium A.D.
The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist book from Dunhuang, China from around 868 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty, is said to be the oldest known printed book.
The Diamond Sutra was created with a method known as block printing, which utilized panels of hand-carved wood blocks in reverse.
Some other texts have survived from Dunhuang as well, including a printed calendar from around 877 A.D., mathematic charts, a vocabulary guide, etiquette instruction, funeral and wedding guides, children’s educational material, dictionaries and almanacs.
It was during this period of early printing that rolled-up scrolls began to be replaced by book-formatted texts. Woodblock printing was also used in Japan and Korea at the time, and metal block printing was also developed at some point during that period, typically for Buddhist and Taoist texts.