The Gutenberg Revolutions

Summary:

•  Johann Gutenberg’s development of the printing press resulted in the accelerated advancement of text technologies. Gutenberg’s invention allowed for books to become more widespread and reading was no longer just for the wealthy.
• The printing technique used a movable type where each character was a punch cut in steel that was then stamped on a copper matrix. This matrix was fit to a mold and filled with hot metal, resulting in individual types. They were then arranged onto type cases to form the lines that would be ultimately pressed on paper using ink. The press itself was probably modeled after the existing wine press. The process of putting a book together involved a practice called imposition to make sure pages were bound in the right order; this required careful calculation of the final placement of each page.
• The printing house became a legitimate establishment with specialized personnel. Press materials could be transported relatively easily, which contributed to the geographical spread of the printing press.

Comment:

During this time we also see the start of book revisions and editing, something that I feel remains a vital part of book publishing to this day. Wynkyn de Worde reprinted some of William Caxton’s publications but he revised them beforehand by comparing them to manuscript sources, taking a critical approach. This injected a bit of critical thinking and creative literary skill into the process of book printing.

Question:

As we can observe nowadays, new technologies usually mean automation and personnel reduction. Did this happen when the printing press caught on and manuscripts were no longer the preferred method of producing texts? Were scribes suddenly unemployed or did the invention of the printing press actually lead to job creation?