What Chinese Inventions Allowed The Printing Of Books?

Everyday people read newspapers and books, but where did printing begin? The movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg made this all possible. Johannes first conceived of this idea of the printing press in the 15th century in order to speed up the slow process of producing books (Bantwal). The movable type printing press, the first real technology of its kind, helped to solve problems, but in turn also caused problems. This technology did influence many areas of life in its lifespan. This includes challenging the church and poisoning people with the increased toxins from mass products of materials. Depending on one’s point of view, this invention could be the best or worst thing to happen during the 15th century. Regardless of

Before the printing press people had written books, articles, and newspapers meticulously by hand. Generally monks produced the books for the Church in the process of wood engraving.This technique included letters and illustrations cut on blocks of wood.Then required each block to be immersed in ink and pressed into sheets of paper. Wood engraving was a laborious process that people had no patience for, but when Johannes Gutenberg had invented an efficient way of printing in mid 15th century, everything changed. Gutenberg first experimented with typography (letterpress printing). This gave him an idea to cut metal blocks within a machine, to speed up the printing process. The movement of the metal blocks to form words and sentences was known as the movable type machine. Johannes Gutenberg innovation spread drastically throughout the European society when he published his first printed book.

The earliest printing in China was the block printing method in the first Century B.C., where the individual sheets of paper were pressed against wooden blocks that had text and illustrations carved into them. This process could print hundreds and even thousands of copies, this technology played a significant role in promoting the spread of culture. A block carver named Bi Sheng made movable types with clay during the period from1004 to 1048. This method each type was carved with one character and the types could be set independently according to contents of different articles. After printing, the movable types could be reused and this improved technology is called movable-type printing. (LAN, 2008)

Gutenberg built upon the success of others. China and Japan printed with engraved wooden blocks as early as the eighth and ninth centuries, with movable type invented in the eleventh century. By the fourteenth century, Europe used the same techniques. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains his merging of ideas: “Johannes Gutenberg is generally credited with… the invention of modern printing: the use of dies to make individual pieces of type that could be assembled as required and then reused, and the use of a press by which sharp impressions could be made many times over, on both sides of a sheet of paper

The creation of the printing press was one of the most significant innovation ever produced during the renaissance, as it revolutionized the way people share, and spread information. The printing press enabled the creation of a fast flow of information, and lead to the spread of new ideas. Before the printing press was invented, the process of creating many books was very slow process because they were handwritten, and it could take up to two years to hand write a book. The books that were written by hand were illuminated by the use of gold, vivid colors, and ornamental letters for decorations because they were almost always religious books. The books were usually produced were written only in Latin, and kept in monasteries in large rooms called

There were several important inventions during medieval times in Ancient China, but there were three key inventions that advanced Chinese culture. China is very popular when it comes to inventing, and making items that help make life easier, so it's not surprising when you hear of China inventing something new. Those three inventions were, the umbrella, compass, and the moveable type printing technique. By researching Chinese culture, I found that these three inventions, helped the Chinese culture advance in many ways.

Around 100 C.E. paper was invented by chinese craftsmen. Prior to this, the chinese people wrote on either silk or bamboo. Because of this, writing about religion and and nature increased heavily. Moreover, poetry started becoming more dominant in the works of the chinese as it allowed them to express how they felt and it helped them feel complete with nature. Because of literature, the spreading of religion and communication became much easier to access since paper was a lot cheaper than the previously used material, silk.

The second type of printing that China invented was movable printing. It was invented by a man named Bi Sheng, a little into the time period of 1040, Song Dynasty. The way the method worked was by using an iron frame, and putting the letters on it and pressing them onto the object. The material that was specifically used on clay, ceramic materials. Sheng tried to use ink for this type of printing as well, but the ink did not function really well. The ink seemed like not being able to attached onto the ceramic materials. The movable printing also helped developed new ways of printing, due to its accomplishments on improving the way they printed.

Likewise, China produced inventions that contributed to not only their culture, but the vast world of our past and present. Particularly, “The Four Great Inventions” have made a tremendous impact on our society as humans. These are the inventions of: Papermaking, Printing, Gunpowder, and the Compass, developed during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Starting with the art of papermaking, this process created a writing surface other than bones, silk, or bamboo. Using plant fibers, Cai Lun of the Eastern Han created a lightweight and smooth textured piece of paper--- as opposed to heavy, rough bones or expensive silk. Then, Bi Shang of the Northern Song Dynasty invented movable type printing, which was later updated and succeeded by Europe. By applying baked clay in which text could be composed, Shang could print the frame onto paper. Therefore, paper and printing were used as expected: creating a source of entertainment in books, information on news, producing art, and more. Progressively, the compass was conceived shortly afterwards. The initial compass had a magnetic rod among a bronze case with twenty-four directions etched into it and was used until the 8th Century. Its “brother” instrument used water to suspend itself and minimize movement, thus allowing long-distance sea navigation. Finally, the introduction of gunpowder had revolutionized China and the world. Gunpowder, which is made of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate, was discovered to burn rapidly, releasing immense volumes of gases. At first, this was used for firework displays, but was found to also be a powerful weapon. With the advantage of gunpowder, China had become a callous adversary in

     The printing press was made up of plain paper, ink, blocks, and the press itself. The blocks were very important in his invention. The blocks were movable objects that made it possible for printing to be carried out at a faster pace. The paper would be placed on a tray and would take the letters and coat them with ink. The letters would hit the paper and mark it with the text.

The Chinese invented many things in their time and paved the way for many new inventions throughout the world. The Chinese were more advanced than most countries. They invented the compass, which allowed for further travel aboard ships. They even knew that iron had magnetic properties. So this proves that the Chinese were advanced. These inventions are still used today and were adopted from the Chinese. The Europeans adopted inventions like the crossbow and the gun. The most important invention from the Chinese is paper. Paper still heavily influences mankind today.

The printing press is considered one of the most significant inventions during its time. Before the printing press, most books were handwritten in Latin, a language only educated people could understand. When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century, it enabled the fast flow of information and helped encourage the spread of new ideas. The social interaction was impacted by the printing press because, many more citizens were able to educate themselves. The books produced by the printing press were cheaper which made it possible for the middle class, who were unable to purchase the handwritten books, to afford the new books. The immediate effect of the printing press was demonstrated by how quickly it spread throughout

In the process in making a book the line setter would then combine letters into lines that make up an individual page. The result ends up being a mirror image of the copied page to be printed. The page form is then inked in with printer's ink. Which is most commonly a black ink made of a lampblack varnish and egg white. Printing could then start. Then a special press, Gutenberg derived from the idea of a traditional wine press, would then place down the ink from the page ffor This process then could be used multiple times, with the same exact page form to make as much of that specific page as you

China can often times be viewed upon as a nation of secrecy and prestige. Secrecy because most of China’s events were never heard of in any parts of the world until many years past. It is often noted that much of China’s history isn’t even known by its own people. Geographically surrounded by mountains and water, China is isolated from most of the world and its events. This made it easy for the Chinese to only focus on themselves and their own country. In this way, China was able to jump ahead of the world and discover, develop, and invent many helpful elements, tools, and technology.

The concept of inkjet printing originated in the 20th century, and the technology was first extensively developed in the early 1950s. Starting in the late 1970s inkjet printers that could reproduce digital images generated by computers were developed, mainly by Epson, Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Canon. Although inkjet printers only appeared on the consumer market in the late 1980s, they had been under development for more than twenty years by that time. In the mid-1970s, printer companies realized the potential of the technology that would make dot matrix printers obsolete. The challenge, however, was to come up with a way to create an affordable inkjet printer that would reliably create high-quality print outs .In the worldwide consumer market, four manufacturers account for the majority of inkjet printer sales: Canon, HP, Epson, and Lexmark, a 1991 spin-off from IBM.[1]( "IBM Archives: 1990s". 03.ibm.com. Retrieved 2012-09-12.)