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Development of Gutenberg's Movable-Type Printing (1430s)

Type Event Region 全世界 Time 1436–1440

In the 1430s, Johannes Gutenberg worked in Mainz on metal movable type and oil-based ink, combining East Asian movable-type principles with European …

Timeline

  1. 1436–1438Mainz · Rhineland-PalatinateIn his Mainz workshop Gutenberg experimented with casting type from lead-tin alloy, solving problems of uniform letterforms, durability, and reusable typesetting, borrowing goldsmithing techniques to cast individual letters into reusable metal type.
  2. 1438–1440Mainz · Rhineland-PalatinateGutenberg developed oil-based ink suitable for metal type and adapted a wine press into a screw printing press, achieving even inking and efficient impression—the key technological combination for mechanized mass reproduction.
  3. 1440Mainz · Rhineland-PalatinateGutenberg partnered with the wealthy merchant Johann Fust to set up a printing workshop, protecting the technology with secrecy agreements and making commercial and organizational preparations for the subsequent large-scale printing of the 42-line Bible, marking movable type's transition from experiment to industrialization.