How the Printing Press Helped in Shaping the Future

Since the start of the 21st century, technology has been developing at a fast pace. Every year there are new inventions and updates to older technologies. This continuous progress has been of incredible help to mankind. A lot of painstakingly long tasks are now done by machines in a fraction of the time as compared to manual labor.

Most of these technologies can be linked back to the industrial revolution in the 18th century. People shifted from their traditional yarning methods to using machines and from then onward, machines have been consistently going through drastic transformations.

The case for printing press is rather different as it was invented more than 500 years ago. Prior to that, printing blocks were used to print imagery on clothes, which dates back to 200 AD. This method was used in China and a similar method was in use by Indians in the 4th century AD. The modern printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, which then helped in mass production of books, and consequently, in the spreading of knowledge. It helped create a more uniform language and made the prices of books become considerably lower and more affordable for the masses. This process was the basis of further human advancement. Let’s look at some of the way the printing press has transformed the world.

Minimized Errors

Before the printing press, monks were in charge of copying and approving the writer’s work. This meant that there was a huge margin of human error. This would affect the outcome of the books a lot and make the written content inaccurate to a high degree. Printing presses minimized that error and reduced it to the lowest possibility.  This meant that the information provided in the books could be trusted and cited as a reference when needed.

Education

The press gave birth to written facts and ideas which meant that a writer could publish his work more freely. A researcher could print and publicize his finding and make it available to people to learn from. This also gave rise to multiple protection rights that we have today. Copyright content, plagiarism and intellectual property rights were established to protect the writers of any content or creative works. These rights to this date continue to be implemented and take artists, creators and writers under their protection.  Due to the availability of more books and the protection of the writer’s work by laws, people educated themselves with the knowledge gained from books. This newfound knowledge also helped the schooling system improve.

More Collaboration

As previously mentioned, books became free of human error. This resulted in scientists and researchers collaborating on their findings and proving their hypothesis either to be factually correct or wrong. This process led to the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment which changed the face of Europe and the way they subsequently impacted the world.

Industrial revolution

The mechanical printing press was invented during the Industrial Revolution. This invention could print thousands of pages on an hourly basis.  The machine was powered by steam, just like the steam engine, steamboats, and many other machines belonging to that era. This had an impact on the speed of the news. Newspaper printing was done at a faster pace and latest gossips and happenings were able to reach people much quicker. Any new information could be delivered within a matter of days of its occurrence. Now the technology has improved even further and newspapers are printed daily.  Printing is not just restricted to printing presses, but can also be done at home using a home printer. The printing press was the basis for further technological marvels such as 3D printing which has impacted the construction, medical and equipment industry.

Economic effect

With more people getting educated due to the availability of books, major cities became the epicenters of knowledge, wealth, and business. Many businesses flourished due to newly provided information and reduced prices of books. Not only did cities benefit from these growing business opportunities, but rural farming communities also benefited from published almanacs that helped farmers with their farming.  These farmers could coordinate better with more reliable almanacs and their methods became more profitable.

The printing press has changed the world by contributing to economic, technological and informational growth. It is certainly not an understatement when the invention of the first printing press is compared with the industrial revolution. The printing press has made an impact on our lives and will continue to do so.