Spread of Printing in Europe

Timeline

1. c. 1480–1485Mainz and various German cities · RhinelandAfter Gutenberg's invention of movable type in the 1450s, German printing craftsmen and merchants carried the technology and equipment to Nuremberg, Augsburg, Cologne, and other cities, forming early publishing centers and training foreign apprentices.
2. c. 1485–1488Venice and Paris · VeniceBy around 1485, Venice had become one of Europe's largest publishing markets, with pioneers such as Aldus Manutius active; cities in France, the Low Countries, and Iberia also set up shops, printing classical and humanist works in large quantities.
3. c. 1485–1490Basel and London · BaselCommercial cities such as Basel and Antwerp became book distribution hubs; England expanded continuously after William Caxton set up his shop in 1476, and by the late 1480s a cross-city printing and book trade network had formed across Western Europe.