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What did the printing press change?
Universal Encyclopedia

What did the printing press change?

Four centuries before Gutenberg, a Chinese commoner printed with clay type. Gutenberg’s press finished the job — and made books cheaper than bread, ideas unstoppable.

The short answer

For 4,000 years, every book on earth was a handmade object, copied letter by letter, worth more than a farm. Then two men, four centuries apart — one Chinese, one German — taught the world to copy.

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Four centuries before Gutenberg, a Chinese commoner printed with clay type. Gutenberg’s press finished the job — and made books cheaper than bread, ideas unstop…

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