Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German metalsmith and inventor whose contributions to printing technology made him famous.
Gutenberg (1398 – February 3, 1468) is credited with inventing moveable type in Europe, which was an improvement over the block printing technology that was already in use at the time.
The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible) is his most famous creation, and it has been praised for its excellent aesthetic and technical characteristics.
Gutenberg is also credited with the introduction of oil-based inks, which are more durable than the preceding water-based inks.
He employed animal leather manuscripts and paper for printing, the latter of which was brought to Europe from China by the Arabs several centuries before.
Gutenberg's youth
Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany, as the youngest son of Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden, a wealthy businessman, and his second wife, Else Wyrich.
Friele was a goldsmith for the bishop of Mainz, according to some accounts, but he most likely also traded in fabric for a living. Gutenberg's birth year is uncertain, however it was most likely in the year 1398.
He began his career as a goldsmith at a young age. Due to an insurrection in Mainz in 1411, he was forced to relocate to Strasbourg, where he spent the next 20 years.
He made a living as a metalworker in Strasbourg. To sell to Christian pilgrims, Gutenberg created miniature mirrored decorations. He returned to Mainz and began working as a goldsmith.
The existence of a very primitive type of printing that may be found in China and Korea around 175 AD proves that printing was not the first innovation.
This year, an inverted effect on wood was created, followed by bronze. This instrument is then inked and placed on a sheet of paper, where it is gently rubbed with a bamboo stick.
Around 1440, Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany, made a significant breakthrough. Gutenberg devised a method of casting letter parts out of a tin alloy. These snippets can be highlighted and printed on a text page.
Gutenberg's method of inventing printing was entirely based on the combination of many East Asian technology, such as paper, woodblock printing, and potentially moveable printing, as well as the creation of Bi Shen and rising demand from the European community for lower book prices. a paper-based book This style of typing lasted approximately 500 years.
Around 1436, Johannes Gutenberg began working on the printing press with Andreas Dritzehan, a gemstone cutter whom Gutenberg had mentored, and Andreas Heilmann, the proprietor of a paper mill.
However, the formal record did not appear until 1439, when Gutenberg was sued; accessible witnesses mention Gutenberg's prints, metal inventories (including lead), and typed prints.
Working as a goldsmith in Mainz gave Gutenberg some of his most important ideas. When he was working as a metalworker, he got the idea to make pardons by making letterheads and printing them in huge quantities in order to pay off his obligations.
Books and letters were written in Latin script by hand at the period, which resulted in many errors during copying. The disadvantage was that it was sluggish.
As a result, Gutenberg used lead to make Latin script, which was the first allusion to metal letters.
To emulate the cursive form of handwriting, Gutenberg was required to construct approximately 300 letterforms at first. After that, Gutenberg created a mobile printing press for them to use.
Gutenberg's greatest contribution was the mobile printing press. Gutenberg printed thousands of pardons after completing his mobile printing press, which the Catholic Church exploited to raise money. This mistreatment is the result of protests by people like Martin Luther.
Bible Printing
In 1452, Gutenberg secured a loan from Johann Fust to start his famous Bible printing project.
However, Gutenberg had been fired from the management of the Bible printer before he was fully prepared because Gutenberg was accused of printing pardons, calendars and light reading books to fill his spare time.
However the resulting Bible is still known as the Gutenberg Bible containing 42 lines per page which was prepared on 15 August 1456 and is considered the oldest printed book in the western world.
Two hundred copies of the Gutenberg Bible were printed, a small portion (about 50) printed on calfskin. The beautiful and expensive Gutenberg Bible was sold for three years' wages of an ordinary coolie. It was sold at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1456. Roughly a quarter of the Gutenberg Bible is preserved today.
Other inventions and contributions
Apart from being an expert in the field of printing, Gutenberg also created printing by-products such as ink and type printing. The ink used is made from a mixture of oil, copper, and lead which is still in good color.
The ink is a different form of ink for ordinary writing because printing ink is more concentrated and more sticky.
Gutenberg has also perfected metal alloys to form letter prints with a combination of lead, antimony and tin which was still only used until the 20th century.
Gutenberg was also trusted to work whose job was to prepare the Encyclopedia Catholicon of Johannes de Janua, 748 pages thick with 2 rooms each. pages and 66 rows per room. At the end of his life he was accepted as accompaniment to the archbishop of Mainz.
Life Magazine considers the Printing Machine to be the most extraordinary invention of the last 1000 years. It is important to realize that the alphabet may be the key to the success of the printing press.
Death
In 1468 Gutenberg died of a heart attack, and was buried in the Franciscan church, Mainz.