Gutenberg’s Printing Press

In the picture

1. 1The wooden screw: a thick threaded post that turns to lower the platen
2. 2The flat platen: the square block that presses paper against inked type
3. 3The type frame: a rectangular tray holding small metal letter blocks
4. 4The long lever: the wooden bar pulled to turn the screw
5. 5The leather ink ball: a round pad used to dab dark ink onto the type

Examples

• A school newsletter printed in many copies instead of handwritten once.
• A recipe shared online and copied by thousands in minutes.

Quiz: Gutenberg’s Printing Press (Age 15)

1. 1

   What did Gutenberg combine around 1440 in Mainz to print books?

   • Movable metal type, oil-based ink, and a screw press
   • Movable metal type, water-based ink, and a roller press
   • Carved wooden blocks, oil-based ink, and a hand crank
2. 2

   What did movable type let printers do?

   • Rearrange reusable metal letters for each new page
   • Carve a new wooden block for every page
   • Write every copy by hand with metal pens
3. 3

   What did the spread of printing across Renaissance Europe help do?

   • It helped Renaissance ideas travel farther
   • It made books harder to find outside Mainz
   • It slowed the copying of texts across Europe

The answers, each with its explanation, are in the app. This lesson has left the free week, so its quiz is part of the subscription.