The Movable Type Printing Press
Gutenberg's Work Begins
Through these years in Stassburg, he began to test and research different methods that would soon lead him to the movable type printing press. He moved back to Mainz, according to a document dated in October 1448. This was where his neighbor, Johann Fust loaned him 800 guilders to create and manufacture the tools that were needed in order to make the printing press functional. Gutenberg along with his employee, Peter Schöffer, started buildinjg the printing press.
How the Printing Press Worked
The process of the printing press would start out by using an ink ball. Gutenberg created this by taking a ball and inserting a handle into it, filling it with horse hair, and covering the ball with goose skin. Two ink balls were needed for both sides of the movable type and would be rolled together in order to insure that the amount of ink coming off each ball was even. Ink was placed on the movable type letters and done so in an up and down motion to be certain that the letters would not fill in with ink. Common printing surfaces were parchment and paper which helped create the first Gutenberg Bibles. In order to get an even print on the front and back of the page, it was placed into a tympan and frisket. This held the printing surface in place assuring that when it was lifted up it did not smear. The frisket would be placed on top of the tympan and the bed would be slid underneath the platen. A lever would move the screw and push platen down with a great amount of force to print on to the page. When this task was completed, the bed would be slid out from under the platen where the page could be flipped around and printed on the opposite side.
The End Result
Bibles were not the first item that Gutenberg started printing even though many believe so. The Catholic Church was excited with this new invention and hired Gutenberg to print copies of indulgences for them. Indulgences are items that can be bought in the Roman Catholic church in order to forgive or partially forgive a person's sins either on earth or for loved ones waiting in purgatory. Although this job paid well, he did not feel like he was fulfilling the actual purpose of this revolutionary machine.
"Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams, the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of men! Through it, God will spread His Word. A spring of truth shall flow from it: like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light heretofore unknown to shine amongst men." - Johannes Gutenberg
Out of this would come his most well known work, the two volume, 1,200 page Bible which took around three years to create. In 1455, he had successfully created 200 Bibles, but sadly he could not pay the interest and loans he had taken from Johann Fust. In order to pay for the loans, Gutenberg was sued and forced to give Fust his printing press, type, and ink. Along with Peter Schöffer, Fust went on to create another income for himself by publishing books and selling them around Germany and France. In the years to come, Johannes Gutenberg was able to open up another printing store and continued printing Bibles.