History Chapter Summarizer

Johann Gutenberg, born into a merchant family, drew inspiration from presses he saw growing up. After mastering various crafts, he revolutionized printing by adapting an olive press into the first printing press and using lead molds for metal types. By 1448, he perfected this system, printing around 180 Bibles in three years, a swift feat for that era. Initially, printed books closely resembled handwritten manuscripts, adorned with hand-painted illustrations and ornamental styles. Over the next century, printing presses spread across Europe, leading to a surge in book production, reaching 20 million copies by the late 15th century and soaring to 200 million by the 16th century. This transition from manual to mechanical printing marked the print revolution, with Gutenberg's movable type printing machine becoming the foundation of print technology for the next 300 years, significantly increasing book production speed.