Movable Type

Movable type is when typography or text is created using movable pieces of metal or other materials such as wood with engraved letters in them, so after being soaked in ink would create the letters after pressed down.  Movable type is usually individual letters and punctuation marks, so naturally it would take a decent amount of time for a single document to be created.

The first ever movable type system for creating text or art was created in China by a Chinese inventor by the name of Bi Sheng. It was made of ceramic materials and was made in the Northern Song Dynasty, around 1040 AD. It spread to Korea 200 years later in the Goryeo dynasty and this led to a metal version of the printing machine. Over 200 years would have definitely seen some new advances in the printing press, but nothing that included this kind of machinery. Because of this new technology they printed the Jikji, the oldest extant movable metal print book. These two machines were very difficult to keep up with however; they both took a lot of manpower and labour and were also very expensive. In China they still continued to use the ceramic system whereas in Korea they had the metal system. The manpower needed to handle thousands of ceramic and metal tablets was unimaginable. 

In the 15^th century Johannes Gutenberg created a much easier and innovative movable printing system which had mechanics that were much more advanced than the one created by the Chinese 400 years ago. It was also considerably easier to use because the European language had less characters and the text was more limited. Something I find very fascinating is how the type pieces are still created using the same alloy of lead, tin and antimony, which is what Gutenberg used in his printing press. 

Movable type was much more efficient and quicker to use than woodblock printing for many different reasons. The individual letters made out of metal were more durable, thus having a longer use life. The lettering was more uniform and looked tidier than the woodblock printing. Because of simple and limited alphabets such as English or various European alphabets the printing press was extremely effective and was heard about more and more. In 1445 the Gutenberg Bible was of very high quality and of a low price, which meant anyone could get one. The popularity of the Gutenberg Bible led to the quick news that movable type was much more superior to other techniques such as woodblock printing. As the news spread, so did the printing press, and soon they were all over Europe.