Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg was a German goldsmith and printer who developed a practical system of movable-type printing in Europe during the 15th century.

Movable type: A printing method that uses reusable individual characters arranged to form text. Gutenberg’s press depended on arranging and reusing cast metal letters.
Type foundry: A workshop that casts or manufactures reusable printing type. Casting standardized letters let a printer set and reuse large quantities of type.
Woodblock printing: A printing method that transfers ink from a carved wooden block bearing a complete image or page. This established European printing practice before Gutenberg introduced reusable metal type.
Printing revolution: The rapid expansion of printed books and print culture following the adoption of printing in Europe. Gutenberg’s workshop helped begin Europe’s transition from manuscript copying to mass printing.
Printing press: A machine that transfers ink from a prepared surface onto paper or another material. The press applied even pressure to transfer Gutenberg’s inked type onto paper.
Type mould: A device for casting metal type to a consistent size and shape. A practical adjustable mould enabled Gutenberg’s workshop to produce uniform pieces of type.
Block-book: A book printed from carved wooden blocks, often with text and images cut together. Block-books show the European print culture that preceded Gutenberg’s press.
Incunabula: Books printed in Europe before 1501, during the earliest period of European printing. These early printed books belong to the tradition launched by Gutenberg’s generation.
Punchcutting: The craft of cutting a letterform into a steel punch used to produce type-mould matrices. Punchcutting supplied the durable letterforms behind Gutenberg’s repeatable type.
Compositing (printing): The arrangement of individual pieces of type into lines and pages for printing. Compositors assembled Gutenberg’s letters into pages before each press run.

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