The creation of letterpress printing, printing technique which has been in use in the West since the 15th Century, is believed to be the most important invention in history.
Johann Gutenberg of
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (1400 – February 3, 1468) was a German goldsmith and printer, who is credited with inventing movable type printing in Europe around 1439 and mechanical printing globally. His major work, the Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line bible, has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.
Some of the well acclaimed contributions to printing that are attributed to Gutenberg include the design of metal movable type, the invention of a process for making such type in quantity (mass production), the use of oil-based ink, and the use of a wooden printing press.
Gutenberg's method for making type is traditionally considered to have included a type metal alloy and a hand mould for casting type.
The “Gutenberg Bible”
It was in early 1455 that the print run of one of the most famous book, the “Gutenberg Bible”. It was one of first books printed by Guttenberg and his craftsmen. It took about one year to produce the approximate 180 letterpress printed copies; about the same amount of time it would have taken a scribe to complete one hand written manuscript of the same text.
How the book was printed... The PROCESS...
- Using a Latin translation from about 380 AD the type was hand set; and the individual sheets were letterpressed in black ink.
- Next, blue and red color initials and illuminations were hand drawn.
- Finally, the individual leaves were folded, gathered and bound into volumes.
Today, Gutenberg’s first book, one of the finest of all the printed books, is considered to be the rarest and most valuable printed item in the world. It is thought that if a complete Gutenberg Bible became available today it would sell for as much as 100 million dollars. In 2000, in honor of his invention, Gutenberg was chosen by an international panel of scientists as the “most outstanding personality of the millennium”
Letterpress publishing has recently undergone a revival in the
The casual observer or recent aficionado of letterpress printing may be surprised to learn that there are numerous sources of printing type available even today. Although letterpress printing may seem like a relic of history, it has in reality never completely ceased to exist as a commercial enterprise. The scope of its use in commercial printing has, however, gradually decreased to the point that it is now appreciated more for the “press” than for the “letter”. For a very few, letterpress is still a worthy enterprise, and for these few, a supply of letterpress type continues to be necessary and valuable. Fulfilling this need is the work of a handful of active typefoundries around the world.
Letterpress versus Offset printing.
To bring out the best attributes of letterpress, printers need to understand the capabilities and advantages of what can be a very unforgiving medium. For instance, since most letterpress equipment prints only one color at a time (unlike presses for offset printing which often use four-color process printing), printing multiple colors can be challenging. The inking system on letterpress equipment is less precise than on offset presses, which can pose problems with some graphics: detailed, white (or "knocked out") areas, such as small, serif type, or very fine halftone, surrounded by fields of color, can fill in with ink and lose definition. However, a skilled printer can overcome most of these problems.
About Erik Spiekermann:
Erik Spiekermann, born 1947, studied History of Art and English in
He was founder (1979) of
In 2001 he redesigned The Economist magazine in
Erik is Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts in
Quotes by Erik Spiekermann
What is the one thing you think every student of typography should know?
In
Erik Spiekermann's work:
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