Johannes Gutenberg's work on the printing press began in approximately 1436 when he partnered with Andreas Dritzehn a man who had previously worked in gem cutting and Andreas Heilmann, owner of a paper mill. Having previously worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals, he was the first to make type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed. His type case is estimated to have contained around 290 separate letter boxes, most of which were required for special characters, ligatures, punctuation marks, and so forth.
When Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1445, he forever changed the lives of people in Europe and, eventually, all over the world. Previously, bookmaking meant copying all the words and illustrations by hand. Often the copying had been done onto parchment or animal skin that had been scraped until it was clean, smooth, and thin. The labor that went into creating them made each book very expensive. Because Gutenberg's press could produce books quickly and with relatively little effort, bookmaking became much less expensive, allowing more people to buy reading material.
In the Middle Ages, books had been costly and education rare, only the clergy had been regular readers and owners of books. Most books had been written in Latin, considered the language of scholarship but many people did not understand the Latin and were not capable of reading them. In the Renaissance, the educated middle classes, who could now afford books, demanded works in their own languages. A means of printing music was also invented, making music available at a reasonable cost. As the demand for books grew, the book trade began to flourish throughout Europe, and industries related to it, such as paper making, thrived as well. The result of all of this was a more literate population and a stronger economy.
In the Middle Ages, books had been costly and education rare, only the clergy had been regular readers and owners of books. Most books had been written in Latin, considered the language of scholarship but many people did not understand the Latin and were not capable of reading them. In the Renaissance, the educated middle classes, who could now afford books, demanded works in their own languages. A means of printing music was also invented, making music available at a reasonable cost. As the demand for books grew, the book trade began to flourish throughout Europe, and industries related to it, such as paper making, thrived as well. The result of all of this was a more literate population and a stronger economy.
Books also helped to spread awareness of a new philosophy that emerged when Renaissance scholars known as humanists returned to the works of ancient writers. Previously, during the Middle Ages, scholars had been guided by the teachings of the church, and people had concerned themselves with actions leading to heavenly rewards. The writings of ancient, from Greece and Rome, called the "classics," had been ignored. To study the classics, humanists learned to read Greek and ancient Latin, and they sought out manuscripts that had not been touched for nearly 2,000 years. The humanists rediscovered writings on scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy, and art. They were influenced by the knowledge of these ancient civilizations and by the emphasis placed on man, his intellect, and his life on Earth.
Due to Guttenberg and the printing press Martin Luther was able to be successful in the protestant reformation. Martin Luther wrote his ninety-five thesis originally in Latin but thanks to Christoph von Scheurl and other friends they were translated into German and printing using the printing press. This greatly increased the notoriety of Martin Luther, and it also made many other people across Europe protest the ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church. Another huge impact the printing press had on Martin Luther was the Luther Bible. Luther went through many different areas of Germany in the 1520’s and picked up on many of the different dialects. Luther then combined all of these dialects when he wrote the Luther Bible