Printing Press Facts for Kids

Posted by Print Britannia on April 7th, 2021

Have you ever thought about where the newspaper and books come from? The printer you have in your home doesn’t print those, so which machine is used to print books?

In this article, you will learn everything about ‘print press’-the machine that prints large volume copies in a short time. This machine also made education and information accessible for all five centuries ago!

What is the Printing Press?

The printing press is a massive machine that uses ink and presses it on paper to print letters. The mechanism is more like block printing on paper or clothes. But the print press machine can make thousands of copies in an hour. This is why it was made to make a huge amount of copies of the same print.

How Was It Like Before Printing Books?

You must have a diary or scrapbook, right? Before inventing the printing machine to make copies of books and newspapers, people still used to read and write, but all by their hands. Yes, they used to make and sell handwritten books.

But it took a lot of time to make one book, and only a few copies can be made. So, those books were out of reach of common people. Hand-written books were so precious that only the richest and special people could have those in their collection.

The invention of the Print Press

You must be wondering who the man behind that miracle machine that sends millions of glossy, colorful text and storybooks at school for kids is? Well, his name is Johann Gutenberg.

It took him five years, and finally, in 1439, he launched a machine that can print around 300 copies an hour. Later, his machine has been modified by many, and now a modern print press can make up to 3000 copies in an hour.

After Effect of the Invention

Before inventing the print press, education was a luxury for rich families. But after the spread of the print press to over 150 countries within a few years, the ‘print shop’ business started ruling the world.

Followed by initiated the business of textbooks, and newspapers flourished. So, schooling of kids and spreading of news became easier for all. And the effect was global. That era is called the first information age.

Printing Nowadays

Nowadays, we use computers to type our write-ups instead of handwriting; and use a printer or photocopy machine instead of the print press to print or make copies of a few papers. Print press is now used to make large volumes of books, newspapers, leaflets, and magazines.

Though most of our daily printing needs are met by computers and printers, the print press is still the cheaper option. Besides, now we are mostly dependent on google drive to archive our necessary documents online rather than actually printing them on perishable paper materials.

Final Verdict

As a kid, you must know from where all your favorite books are coming from and the history behind the print press. So, now you have it! You can share this amazing story of the invention of the print press and the revolution caused by it.

Soon, the print press will be placed in the museum. Better visit an actual print press before that. Then you can tell about the real print press you visited as a child when you grew up.

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Print Britannia
Joined: April 7th, 2021
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