Spread · Invention

Printing with movable type

Printing from reusable type began in East Asia: Bi Sheng made clay type in the 1040s, Wang Zhen wooden type about 1298, and Korea printed with cast metal type by 1377. About 1450 Gutenberg put metal type and a press together at Mainz, and German printers and their pupils took the craft to more than 200 European towns by 1500.

c. 1298 – today
41 places reached
Still in use

See it spread on the atlas All spreads Wikipedia

2026

Every place it reached: 41, faint where it ended

Printing with movable typeIn useSpread

People

c. 1400 – 1468
Johannes Gutenberg

Timeline

41 arrivals in order: when it was first recorded in each place, from where and who carried it, with the sources for the date.

c. 1298 · Jingde · Movable type in East Asia
Wang Zhen, magistrate of the county, had a set of wooden type cut and sorted on revolving tables, and about 1298 printed a hundred copies of the county gazetteer with it; he described the method in 1313.
where it began[3][4][5]
1377 · Cheongju · Movable type in East Asia
At Heungdeok Temple outside the town, disciples of the monk Baegun printed his Zen anthology, the Jikji, with cast metal type in 1377; its second volume, now in Paris, is the oldest surviving book so printed.
[7][6]
c. 1450 · Mainz · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Gutenberg had his press for cast metal type at work here by about 1450; an indulgence in use by October 1454 is its first exactly dated print, and his 42-line Bible was finished by 1454 or 1455.
[9][10][8][1]
1460 · Strasbourg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johannes Mentelin, a scribe and notary, was printing here by 1460, the date of the first volume of his Latin Bible; where he learned the craft is not known.
[1][11][2]
February 1461 · Bamberg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Albrecht Pfister, secretary to the prince-bishop, printed Ulrich Boner's German fables with woodcuts here, dated 14 February 1461, with type that had come from Gutenberg.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][12][9]
1465 · Subiaco · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Konrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz, German clerics, set up Italy's first press in the abbey of Santa Scolastica; their Cicero was finished before 30 September 1465.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][13][14][2]
c. 1465 · Cologne · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Ulrich Zell of Hanau, who had learned printing in the shop of Fust and Schöffer at Mainz, was printing here by about 1465; his first dated book appeared in 1466.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][15][2]
1467 · Rome · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Sweynheym and Pannartz moved from Subiaco to a house of the Massimo brothers here in 1467, the year Ulrich Han finished Torquemada's Meditations, the first Italian book with woodcuts.
from Subiaco · by craftsmen[1][13][16][2]
c. 1468 · Basel · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Berthold Ruppel of Hanau, who had worked with Gutenberg at Mainz in 1455, had a press here by about 1468, when he printed a Latin Bible.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][17][2]
March 1468 · Augsburg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Günther Zainer, a painter and goldsmith who came from Strasbourg and probably learned printing from Mentelin, finished his first book here on 12 March 1468.
from Strasbourg · by craftsmen[1][18][2]
1469 · Venice · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann of Speyer, a goldsmith recorded at Mainz in 1460 and 1461, printed Cicero's letters here in 1469 and won a five-year monopoly from the Senate; by 1500 Venice had printed more editions than any other town.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][19][2]
1469 · Nuremberg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Sensenschmidt was printing here by 1469; Anton Koberger, who started about 1470, built the most successful publishing house in Germany and printed the Nuremberg Chronicle.
[1][2][20]
1470 · France (Paris) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Heynlin and Guillaume Fichet brought three printers from Basel to work a press in the Sorbonne, and its first book, the letters of Gasparino Barzizza, came out in 1470.
from Basel · by craftsmen[1][21][2]
c. 1470 · Milan · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Antonio Zarotto and Christoph Valdarfer were printing here by about 1470, and Milan became one of the six cities that held most of Italy's print shops.
[1][2]
1470 · Naples · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Sixtus Riessinger, a German cleric who had printed in Rome since about 1467, moved his press here and printed a lament for the fall of Negroponte in 1470.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][22][2]
November 1471 · Florence · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Bernardo Cennini, a goldsmith, worked out the craft from printed books he had seen and cast his own type; the first part of his Servius on Virgil is dated 7 November 1471.
[1][23][2]
c. 1472 · Segovia · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johannes Parix of Heidelberg came from Rome at the call of Bishop Juan Arias Dávila and printed the acts of the synod of Aguilafuente of June 1472, the first book printed in Spain.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][24][25][2]
1473 · Utrecht · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Nicolaas Ketelaer and Gerard de Leempt printed Peter Comestor's Historia scholastica here in 1473; older undated prints from the Low Countries are known, but not where they were made.
[1][2]
c. 1473 · Poland (Kraków) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Kasper Straube, a Bavarian printer, issued a wall calendar for the year 1474 here, the oldest known print from Poland, and worked here until 1477.
[26][27][2][1]
1473 · Aalst · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Dirk Martens, back from Venice where he had learned to print, set up a press in his home town with John of Westphalia, and their first books are dated 1473.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][28][29][2]
c. 1473 · Seville · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Antonio Martínez, Alfonso del Puerto and Bartolomé Segura printed an indulgence for Seville's cathedral, dated September 1473; their first dated book followed in 1477.
[1][2]
June 1473 · Hungary (Buda) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
András Hess, called from a press in Rome by the provost László Karai, finished the Chronica Hungarorum here on 5 June 1473, the first book printed in Hungary.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][30][2]
August 1473 · Merseburg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lucas Brandis dated his first books here in August and October 1473, then moved to Lübeck before the year was out; where he learned to print is not known for certain.
[1][31]
September 1473 · Lyon · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Guillaume Le Roy printed Innocent III's Compendium breve here for Barthélemy Buyer on 17 September 1473; Lyon became the second centre of printing in France.
[1][2]
1474 · Leuven · Gutenberg's press in Europe
John of Westphalia moved here from Aalst in 1474 and printed for the university until 1498; his edition of Crescenzi's Ruralia commoda is dated 9 December 1474.
from Aalst · by craftsmen[1][29][2]
c. 1474 · Lübeck · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lucas Brandis came here from Merseburg late in 1473 and finished his world chronicle, the Rudimentum novitiorum, on 5 August 1475; Lübeck printers later made service books for Nordic dioceses.
from Merseburg · by craftsmen[1][31][2]
c. 1474 · Bruges · Gutenberg's press in Europe
William Caxton, an English merchant who had learned printing at Cologne about 1471, printed the first books in English here from about 1474, in partnership with Colard Mansion.
from Cologne · by craftsmen[1][34][35][2]
c. 1474 · Valencia · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lambert Palmart from Cologne ran a press here for a German merchant and printed the Trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria about 1474, held to be the first literary book printed in Spain.
[1][33][2]
1476 · England (Westminster) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Caxton came from Bruges with new type and set up shop by the abbey in 1476; an indulgence he printed bears the handwritten date 13 December 1476, and his Dictes of 1477 is England's first dated book.
from Bruges · by craftsmen[1][34][35][2]
April 1476 · Plzeň · Gutenberg's press in Europe
An unnamed printer issued the statutes of the Prague church province here on 26 April 1476, the earliest dated print known from Bohemia.
[1][2]
1477 · Deventer · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Richard Paffraet dated his first book here in 1477, and by 1500 Deventer had printed more editions than any other town in the Low Countries.
[1][2]
December 1478 · Oxford · Gutenberg's press in Europe
An unnamed printer finished Rufinus on the Creed here on 17 December 1478, misprinted as 1468; Theoderic Rood of Cologne printed here from about 1481.
[1][36][2]
September 1481 · Leipzig · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Marcus Brandis, who had learned printing from his brother Lucas at Lübeck and worked at Merseburg, printed the first book known from Leipzig on 28 September 1481.
from Merseburg · by craftsmen[1][32][2]
1482 · Vienna · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Printing began here in 1482 with an unnamed printer, perhaps Stephan Koblinger, who dated several books that year.
[1][2]
1482 · Odense · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Snell of Lübeck, called by Bishop Karl Rønnov, printed a breviary for the diocese and Caoursin's account of the siege of Rhodes here in 1482, the first books printed in Denmark.
from Lübeck · by craftsmen[1][39][37][38][2]
December 1483 · Sweden (Stockholm) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Snell came here from Lübeck at the call of the Uppsala chapter to print its missal, and on 20 December 1483 finished the Dialogus creaturarum, the first book printed in Sweden.
from Lübeck · by craftsmen[1][39][38][2]
June 1487 · Faro · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Samuel Gacon had a Hebrew Pentateuch printed here, finished on 30 June 1487, the first book printed in Portugal; its only known copy is in the British Library.
[1][40][2]
July 1489 · Lisbon · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Rabbi Eliezer Toledano printed Nahmanides' commentary on the Torah here on 16 July 1489, and his Hebrew press worked until the Jews were expelled from Portugal in 1497.
[1][2]
December 1493 · Ottoman Empire (Constantinople) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
The brothers David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, Jewish exiles from Iberia, finished Jacob ben Asher's code Arba'ah Turim here on 13 December 1493, the first book printed in the Ottoman Empire.
by settlers and craftsmen[1][41][2]
January 1494 · Zeta (Cetinje) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
The monk Makarije, sent to Venice by Đurađ Crnojević to buy a press and learn the craft, finished an Octoechos in Church Slavonic here on 4 January 1494.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][42][43][2]
August 1494 · Senj · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Blaž Baromić, a canon of Senj who had learned printing in Venice, finished a Glagolitic missal here on 7 August 1494 with two partners.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][44][2]

Sources

Works the dates are read from. Each arrival above names its own.

1.Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
2.Global spread of the printing press. citing Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (British Library) for most towns; Borsa 1976, p. 313 (Italy); Wydra 1987, p. 88 (Kraków); Blake 1978, p. 43 (Westminster); Dal 1987, p. 37 (Odense, Stockholm); Horch 1987, p. 125 (Faro); Güleryüz 2012, p. 90 (Constantinople); Borsa 1977, pp. 166-169 (Italy's six main printing cities)
3.Wang Zhen (inventor). citing Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 part 1 (Tsien 1985), pp. 206-208
4.王祯 (元朝). citing no inline citation
5.Movable type. citing Tsien 1985 (Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 part 1), pp. 201-217; Man 2002
6.Jikji. citing UNESCO Memory of the World register entry; the book's own colophon
7.Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol (vol. II). UNESCO Memory of the World Programme
8.Gutenberg's life: the years of the Bible. British Library, Treasures in Full, Gutenberg Bible
9.Johannes Gutenberg. citing Wagner 2000, p. 74 (the press at work by 1450); Kapr 1996, p. 322 (the 36-line Bible)
10.Gutenberg Bible. citing Harry Ransom Center, The Gutenberg Bible; Wagner and Reed 2010, p. 11 (the 31-line indulgence)
11.Johannes Mentelin. citing no inline citation; its literature is Geldner 1968, Harthausen 1989, Schorbach 1932
12.Albrecht Pfister. citing Füssel 2005 (Gutenberg and the Impact of Printing), p. 49; Scholderer 1912
13.Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim. citing Löffler, Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), after Zedler 1901
14.Subiaco Press. citing no inline citation
15.Ulrich Zell. citing Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Ulrich Zell"
16.Ulrich Han. citing Lülfing, Neue Deutsche Biographie 7, p. 601; Davies, "Han, Ulrich", Oxford Companion to the Book (2010)
17.Berthold Ruppel. citing University Library of Basel, "Berthold Ruppel" (ub2.unibas.ch)
18.Günther Zainer. citing Steinberg 1961 (Five Hundred Years of Printing), pp. 53-56
19.Johann and Wendelin of Speyer. citing Wallau, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Johann and Wendelin von Speyer"
20.Anton Koberger. citing no inline citation for these lines
21.The first Paris press: an account of the books printed for G. Fichet and J. Heynlin in the Sorbonne, 1470-1472. Anatole Claudin, 1898, Bibliographical Society, London
22.Sixtus Riessinger. citing no inline citation for these lines
23.Bernardo Cennini. citing no inline citation for these lines
24.Juan Párix. citing Reyes Gómez, "Juan Párix", Diccionario Biográfico (Real Academia de la Historia); Reyes Gómez 2005, Segovia y los orígenes de la imprenta española
25.Sinodal de Aguilafuente. citing no inline citation for these lines
26.History of printing in Poland. citing Wydra 1987 (Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 62), p. 88; Davies, God's Playground
27.Kasper Straube. citing no inline citation
28.Dirk Martens. citing IJsewijn and Tournoy 2015 (Humanism in the Low Countries), pp. 114-115
29.John of Westphalia. citing no inline citation
30.András Hess. citing Borsa and Soltész 1973 (Az első magyarországi nyomda története)
31.Lucas Brandis. citing no inline citation for these lines
32.Marcus Brandis. citing no inline citation for these lines
33.Lambert Palmart. citing Haebler 2005 (Impresores primitivos de España y Portugal)
34.The printers, stationers and bookbinders of Westminster and London from 1476 to 1535. E. Gordon Duff, 1906, Cambridge University Press
35.William Caxton. citing Encyclopaedia Britannica, "William Caxton" (Bruges); Timbs, Curiosities of London (Westminster)
36.Theoderic Rood. citing BMC XI (England), 2007, pp. 234-243; Duff 1917 with Hellinga 2009 (Printing in England in the Fifteenth Century)
37.Johann Snell. citing Den Store Danske, "Johann Snell"; Kulturarv, "Johan Snell's Printing Works"; Collijn 1917
38.Johann Snell. citing its literature (Steiff 1892, Lange 1891 and 1896, Lohmeier 1994)
39.Snell (Snel), Johann. Isak Collijn, 1917, Nordisk familjebok, 2nd ed., vol. 26, cols. 103-105
40.Faro Pentateuch. citing no inline citation
41.Arba'ah Turim. citing Simon 2011 (Judaica Librarianship 16), pp. 125-135
42.Hieromonk Makarije. citing Bibliografski vjesnik 2003, p. 23
43.Crnojević printing house. citing Singleton 1985 (A short history of the Yugoslav peoples), p. 30
44.Blaž Baromić. citing no inline citation for these lines

A printing press is a machine that applies pressure to transfer ink onto a surface made of paper, cloth, or a similar material. Its workers are known as printing press operators. It marked a significant improvement on earlier methods, in which the paper was rubbed by hand to transfer applied ink to the printing surface.

The printing press was invented by the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, and its subsequent global spread revolutionized literary production and communication during the early modern period. The spread of printing brought about an era of mass communication in European society, allowing information to quickly spread across Europe and contributing to the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. The cost of printed texts declined and their availability increased, facilitating higher adult literacy rates across Europe. Books increasingly appeared in vernacular languages rather than Latin, and national languages were standardized.

The basic design of the wooden handpress was largely consistent for over three centuries, until the Industrial Revolution. By 1800 Lord Stanhope had built a new iron printing press printing a sheet at one pull. In 1814, The Times adopted Friedrich Koenig's new presses, which incorporated steam power and rotary motion. Richard M. Hoe's rotary printing press, introduced in 1843, enabled much higher output; later rotary presses could produce millions of page impressions in a day. During the twentieth century, the letterpress was largely replaced by offset printing, phototypesetting, and digital printing in commercial work.

History

Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press around 1440, utilizing four existing technologies: the screw press, movable type, the codex book format, and mechanized paper production. The economic and cultural changes of late medieval Europe brought about viable commercial conditions for his press. The urban middle class grew alongside trade and commerce, while the growing number of universities since the twelfth century had increased demand for books. Hand-copying was slow and expensive, and by the fifteenth century, the supply of manuscripts was much less than the demand. Gutenberg integrated these four technologies into a single working system and added a number of innovations of his own, including a hand mold for casting type and an oil-based ink suited to metal type.

Technological factors

The first factor, the screw press, permitted direct pressure to be applied on a flat plane. Used for a variety of tasks and introduced by the Romans in the 1st century AD, it was often used by farmers for pressing grapes to make wine and olives to make oil. Gutenberg may also have been inspired by the paper presses which operated similarly to the screw press and were used across the German lands from the late 14th century. He adopted the basic design of the screw press, thereby mechanizing the printing process. Printing brought the machine different demands, and Gutenberg adapted the construction so that the platen (a flat surface) exerted even pressure across the paper with minimal smearing. Gutenberg introduced a movable undertable with a level surface on which the sheets could be swiftly changed.

Movable type is the typographical principle of writing a text from individual reusable characters. The Chinese artisan Bi Sheng invented the first movable type in the 11th century during the Song dynasty, using characters made of baked clay. Around 1300, Wang Zhen developed a set of movable wooden type, arranged on revolving tables, which he used to print a local gazetteer. Wang wrote about his invention in his agricultural treatise. Woodblock printing remained the primary method in East Asia. The oldest surviving book incorporating metal movable type is the Jikji dating to 1377, produced under the Korean state of Goryeo. However, none of the various East Asian methods gained widespread usage, largely due to their relative inefficiency. The logographic script used in China included thousands of distinct characters, resulting in high production costs for a full set of type. The Gutenberg press benefited from its use of the Latin alphabet with a relatively small set of characters.

The codex book format also dated to the Roman Empire, and was of utmost significance in the history of the book. By 500 AD, Christian and Muslim scribes had shifted from using scrolls to using codices. The codex proved more convenient than the scroll format because of its greater legibility, compact arrangement, lower costs, and the availability of both left and right pages.

Medieval papermakers had successfully mechanized the production of paper. Water-powered paper mills were in usage by 1282, resulting in much greater production and replacing the tedious processes associated with Chinese and Muslim papermaking. The number of papermaking centers grew rapidly in late 13th-century Italy, causing paper to become much cheaper than parchment. These centers became more common in Germany a century later.

However, the increased usage of paper was just as dependent on the rise of movable-type printing. Codices of parchment are superior in quality to any other writing material, and Gutenberg still made great use of them in his edition of the 42-line Bible. After much experimentation, he concluded that the formula for an oil-based ink worked best for printing with metal type.

Gutenberg's press

Gutenberg began working on the printing press around 1436, when he partnered with the gemcutter Andreas Dritzehn and the paper miller Andreas Heilmann. The first known mention of Gutenberg's work is in a 1439 lawsuit against him which describes his types, type molds, and collection of metals. Gutenberg had formerly worked as a professional goldsmith, and had obtained knowledge of metals from that craft. He was the first to produce type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony. This alloy produced a particularly durable type suitable for high-quality printing. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used a special matrix that allowed him to rapidly and precisely mold new type blocks from a uniform template. His type case is estimated to have contained 290 separate letter boxes including special characters, ligatures, and punctuation marks.

Gutenberg is also credited with introducing an oil-based ink, which was more durable than the previously used water-based inks. He used both paper and vellum (high-quality parchment) in his printing. He created a trial of color printing for a few of the page headings in the Gutenberg Bible, present only in some copies. The Mainz Psalter of 1453, likely designed by Gutenberg, featured elaborate red and blue printed initials and was published by his successors Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer.

Operation

A classical printing press is a stationary machine about 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 m) long, 3 feet (0.91 m) wide, and 7 feet (2.1 m) tall. A compositor set the type, the small individual metal letters, into the desired lines of text. Several lines were arranged at once and inserted into a wooden frame, the galley. Once the correct number of pages was composed, the galleys were laid face up in another frame called a forme, which rested on a flat stone, the bed.

The type was inked using two pads of leather called ink balls and mounted on wooden handles. The ink balls were stuffed with wool or horsehair, and the leather was usually sheepskin, but sometimes also calfskin and dogskin. The compositor pressed the ink balls together to distribute the ink evenly, and then applied the balls to the type. A sheet of dampened paper was held together by various small pins and two thin frames, the tympan and the frisket. The paper was placed on the tympan, and the frisket, which contained cut-out openings matching the type, was folded over the sheet to protect the margins from ink.

The tympan and frisket were then folded down so that the paper rested on the inked type. The rounce (a small handle) and the windlass (a winch) were used to wind the bed under the platen. The compositor pulled a long lever, the bar, which drove a screw that pressed the platen onto the paper, and the elastic nature of the machine caused the bar to spring back after each pull. The rounce was then rotated in the opposite direction to move the bed away from the platen, the tympan and frisket were lifted, and the printed sheet was removed. Human hand worked the entire process until the development in the early 19th century of iron presses, some of which could be operated by steam power.

Mass production and spread in Europe

Gutenberg's mechanical movable-type printing press, alongside consumer demand for printed copies of Bibles and other religious works, precipitated the widespread growth of the printing industry across Europe. Gutenberg's print shop in Mainz was originally the only one in Europe, but by the end of the 15th century around 270 European cities were involved in printing. As early as 1480, there were printers active in 110 different places in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, England, Bohemia and Poland. The historians Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin conclude that by this date, the printed book was used throughout Europe.

In Italy, a center of early printing, print shops existed in 77 cities and towns by 1500, while 151 locations in Italy had hosted printing at some point by 1600. In 1600, nearly 3,000 printers are known to have been active in Italy. However, printing centers soon emerged, and one third of the Italian printers published in Venice.

By 1500, printing presses throughout Western Europe had produced over 20 million copies. Their output grew to an estimated 150–200 million copies by 1600. European printing presses c. 1600 could produce between 1,500 and 3,600 impressions per workday. By comparison, with manual woodblock printing, a skilled printer could print 1,500 to 2,000 double sheets per day. A printing block could be used for up to 25,000 prints with repairs. The Korean Kabin font metal movable type developed in 1434 could print 40 sheets per day. At least 750,000 copies of Erasmus's works were sold during his lifetime (1469–1536), while Martin Luther became Europe's most published author c. 1520, at the start of the Reformation. Printers across Germany reprinted 291 editions of Luther's 45 original works, and between 1518 and 1520 they distributed 300,000 printed copies of his works, with the widespread printing surprising both the pope and secular rulers.

Newspapers arose due to faster typographical production and falling costs (see Relation), and provided a new means of conveying current information to the public. The historian Andrew Pettegree argues that the Reformation directly contributed to the market for printed news. Printers who had gained readers from Luther's pamphlets kept them by producing news sheets discussing current events. These news pamphlets closely resembled the Reformation Flugschriften (printed pamphlets) in format, typically running to four or eight pages in quarto. In the early seventeenth century, a German publisher issued news bulletins on a regular schedule, creating the first weekly newspaper, and after the format spread it remained the principal news medium in northern Europe for over a century. Many libraries in Europe and North America contain works printed before 1501, known as incunabula.

Global spread

The printing press spread rapidly across Europe largely because the equipment was portable, making censorship efforts difficult. When religious or government entities attempted to curtail the technology in one city, the printers would relocate to neighboring cities, further accelerating the press's spread across Europe. Colonial and missionary networks spread the European-style printing press even farther, as Jesuit missionaries established a press at Goa in 1556 with João de Bustamante as its first printer. The Portuguese Jesuit Diogo de Mesquita acquired a press during a visit to Europe in 1586 and maintained it at Nagasaki, producing religious works in Japanese until his death in 1614. The Dominicans set up the first press in the Philippines, publishing the Doctrina Christiana. In the Ottoman Empire, Sephardi Jews quickly established a Hebrew press in Constantinople in 1493, an Armenian press was established in 1567, and a Greek press in 1627. The first printing press in the Middle East, the Safed Hebrew printing press, was established by two Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in 1577. İbrahim Müteferrika established the first Arabic-script press for a Muslim readership in 1727. Esad of Ioannina assisted Müteferrika in the development of his press, which produced seventeen works before 1742. In the Americas, Juan Pablos established the first press in Mexico City in 1539, working on behalf of the Seville-based publisher Juan Cromberger, while British colonists established another press at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1638.

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Text from the Wikipedia article “Printing press”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

People

c. 1400 – 1468
Johannes Gutenberg

Timeline

41 arrivals in order: when it was first recorded in each place, from where and who carried it, with the sources for the date.

c. 1298 · Jingde · Movable type in East Asia
Wang Zhen, magistrate of the county, had a set of wooden type cut and sorted on revolving tables, and about 1298 printed a hundred copies of the county gazetteer with it; he described the method in 1313.
where it began[3][4][5]
1377 · Cheongju · Movable type in East Asia
At Heungdeok Temple outside the town, disciples of the monk Baegun printed his Zen anthology, the Jikji, with cast metal type in 1377; its second volume, now in Paris, is the oldest surviving book so printed.
[7][6]
c. 1450 · Mainz · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Gutenberg had his press for cast metal type at work here by about 1450; an indulgence in use by October 1454 is its first exactly dated print, and his 42-line Bible was finished by 1454 or 1455.
[9][10][8][1]
1460 · Strasbourg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johannes Mentelin, a scribe and notary, was printing here by 1460, the date of the first volume of his Latin Bible; where he learned the craft is not known.
[1][11][2]
February 1461 · Bamberg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Albrecht Pfister, secretary to the prince-bishop, printed Ulrich Boner's German fables with woodcuts here, dated 14 February 1461, with type that had come from Gutenberg.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][12][9]
1465 · Subiaco · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Konrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz, German clerics, set up Italy's first press in the abbey of Santa Scolastica; their Cicero was finished before 30 September 1465.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][13][14][2]
c. 1465 · Cologne · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Ulrich Zell of Hanau, who had learned printing in the shop of Fust and Schöffer at Mainz, was printing here by about 1465; his first dated book appeared in 1466.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][15][2]
1467 · Rome · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Sweynheym and Pannartz moved from Subiaco to a house of the Massimo brothers here in 1467, the year Ulrich Han finished Torquemada's Meditations, the first Italian book with woodcuts.
from Subiaco · by craftsmen[1][13][16][2]
c. 1468 · Basel · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Berthold Ruppel of Hanau, who had worked with Gutenberg at Mainz in 1455, had a press here by about 1468, when he printed a Latin Bible.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][17][2]
March 1468 · Augsburg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Günther Zainer, a painter and goldsmith who came from Strasbourg and probably learned printing from Mentelin, finished his first book here on 12 March 1468.
from Strasbourg · by craftsmen[1][18][2]
1469 · Venice · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann of Speyer, a goldsmith recorded at Mainz in 1460 and 1461, printed Cicero's letters here in 1469 and won a five-year monopoly from the Senate; by 1500 Venice had printed more editions than any other town.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][19][2]
1469 · Nuremberg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Sensenschmidt was printing here by 1469; Anton Koberger, who started about 1470, built the most successful publishing house in Germany and printed the Nuremberg Chronicle.
[1][2][20]
1470 · France (Paris) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Heynlin and Guillaume Fichet brought three printers from Basel to work a press in the Sorbonne, and its first book, the letters of Gasparino Barzizza, came out in 1470.
from Basel · by craftsmen[1][21][2]
c. 1470 · Milan · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Antonio Zarotto and Christoph Valdarfer were printing here by about 1470, and Milan became one of the six cities that held most of Italy's print shops.
[1][2]
1470 · Naples · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Sixtus Riessinger, a German cleric who had printed in Rome since about 1467, moved his press here and printed a lament for the fall of Negroponte in 1470.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][22][2]
November 1471 · Florence · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Bernardo Cennini, a goldsmith, worked out the craft from printed books he had seen and cast his own type; the first part of his Servius on Virgil is dated 7 November 1471.
[1][23][2]
c. 1472 · Segovia · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johannes Parix of Heidelberg came from Rome at the call of Bishop Juan Arias Dávila and printed the acts of the synod of Aguilafuente of June 1472, the first book printed in Spain.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][24][25][2]
1473 · Utrecht · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Nicolaas Ketelaer and Gerard de Leempt printed Peter Comestor's Historia scholastica here in 1473; older undated prints from the Low Countries are known, but not where they were made.
[1][2]
c. 1473 · Poland (Kraków) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Kasper Straube, a Bavarian printer, issued a wall calendar for the year 1474 here, the oldest known print from Poland, and worked here until 1477.
[26][27][2][1]
1473 · Aalst · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Dirk Martens, back from Venice where he had learned to print, set up a press in his home town with John of Westphalia, and their first books are dated 1473.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][28][29][2]
c. 1473 · Seville · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Antonio Martínez, Alfonso del Puerto and Bartolomé Segura printed an indulgence for Seville's cathedral, dated September 1473; their first dated book followed in 1477.
[1][2]
June 1473 · Hungary (Buda) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
András Hess, called from a press in Rome by the provost László Karai, finished the Chronica Hungarorum here on 5 June 1473, the first book printed in Hungary.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][30][2]
August 1473 · Merseburg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lucas Brandis dated his first books here in August and October 1473, then moved to Lübeck before the year was out; where he learned to print is not known for certain.
[1][31]
September 1473 · Lyon · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Guillaume Le Roy printed Innocent III's Compendium breve here for Barthélemy Buyer on 17 September 1473; Lyon became the second centre of printing in France.
[1][2]
1474 · Leuven · Gutenberg's press in Europe
John of Westphalia moved here from Aalst in 1474 and printed for the university until 1498; his edition of Crescenzi's Ruralia commoda is dated 9 December 1474.
from Aalst · by craftsmen[1][29][2]
c. 1474 · Lübeck · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lucas Brandis came here from Merseburg late in 1473 and finished his world chronicle, the Rudimentum novitiorum, on 5 August 1475; Lübeck printers later made service books for Nordic dioceses.
from Merseburg · by craftsmen[1][31][2]
c. 1474 · Bruges · Gutenberg's press in Europe
William Caxton, an English merchant who had learned printing at Cologne about 1471, printed the first books in English here from about 1474, in partnership with Colard Mansion.
from Cologne · by craftsmen[1][34][35][2]
c. 1474 · Valencia · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lambert Palmart from Cologne ran a press here for a German merchant and printed the Trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria about 1474, held to be the first literary book printed in Spain.
[1][33][2]
1476 · England (Westminster) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Caxton came from Bruges with new type and set up shop by the abbey in 1476; an indulgence he printed bears the handwritten date 13 December 1476, and his Dictes of 1477 is England's first dated book.
from Bruges · by craftsmen[1][34][35][2]
April 1476 · Plzeň · Gutenberg's press in Europe
An unnamed printer issued the statutes of the Prague church province here on 26 April 1476, the earliest dated print known from Bohemia.
[1][2]
1477 · Deventer · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Richard Paffraet dated his first book here in 1477, and by 1500 Deventer had printed more editions than any other town in the Low Countries.
[1][2]
December 1478 · Oxford · Gutenberg's press in Europe
An unnamed printer finished Rufinus on the Creed here on 17 December 1478, misprinted as 1468; Theoderic Rood of Cologne printed here from about 1481.
[1][36][2]
September 1481 · Leipzig · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Marcus Brandis, who had learned printing from his brother Lucas at Lübeck and worked at Merseburg, printed the first book known from Leipzig on 28 September 1481.
from Merseburg · by craftsmen[1][32][2]
1482 · Vienna · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Printing began here in 1482 with an unnamed printer, perhaps Stephan Koblinger, who dated several books that year.
[1][2]
1482 · Odense · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Snell of Lübeck, called by Bishop Karl Rønnov, printed a breviary for the diocese and Caoursin's account of the siege of Rhodes here in 1482, the first books printed in Denmark.
from Lübeck · by craftsmen[1][39][37][38][2]
December 1483 · Sweden (Stockholm) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Snell came here from Lübeck at the call of the Uppsala chapter to print its missal, and on 20 December 1483 finished the Dialogus creaturarum, the first book printed in Sweden.
from Lübeck · by craftsmen[1][39][38][2]
June 1487 · Faro · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Samuel Gacon had a Hebrew Pentateuch printed here, finished on 30 June 1487, the first book printed in Portugal; its only known copy is in the British Library.
[1][40][2]
July 1489 · Lisbon · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Rabbi Eliezer Toledano printed Nahmanides' commentary on the Torah here on 16 July 1489, and his Hebrew press worked until the Jews were expelled from Portugal in 1497.
[1][2]
December 1493 · Ottoman Empire (Constantinople) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
The brothers David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, Jewish exiles from Iberia, finished Jacob ben Asher's code Arba'ah Turim here on 13 December 1493, the first book printed in the Ottoman Empire.
by settlers and craftsmen[1][41][2]
January 1494 · Zeta (Cetinje) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
The monk Makarije, sent to Venice by Đurađ Crnojević to buy a press and learn the craft, finished an Octoechos in Church Slavonic here on 4 January 1494.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][42][43][2]
August 1494 · Senj · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Blaž Baromić, a canon of Senj who had learned printing in Venice, finished a Glagolitic missal here on 7 August 1494 with two partners.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][44][2]

Sources

Works the dates are read from. Each arrival above names its own.

1.Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
2.Global spread of the printing press. citing Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (British Library) for most towns; Borsa 1976, p. 313 (Italy); Wydra 1987, p. 88 (Kraków); Blake 1978, p. 43 (Westminster); Dal 1987, p. 37 (Odense, Stockholm); Horch 1987, p. 125 (Faro); Güleryüz 2012, p. 90 (Constantinople); Borsa 1977, pp. 166-169 (Italy's six main printing cities)
3.Wang Zhen (inventor). citing Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 part 1 (Tsien 1985), pp. 206-208
4.王祯 (元朝). citing no inline citation
5.Movable type. citing Tsien 1985 (Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 part 1), pp. 201-217; Man 2002
6.Jikji. citing UNESCO Memory of the World register entry; the book's own colophon
7.Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol (vol. II). UNESCO Memory of the World Programme
8.Gutenberg's life: the years of the Bible. British Library, Treasures in Full, Gutenberg Bible
9.Johannes Gutenberg. citing Wagner 2000, p. 74 (the press at work by 1450); Kapr 1996, p. 322 (the 36-line Bible)
10.Gutenberg Bible. citing Harry Ransom Center, The Gutenberg Bible; Wagner and Reed 2010, p. 11 (the 31-line indulgence)
11.Johannes Mentelin. citing no inline citation; its literature is Geldner 1968, Harthausen 1989, Schorbach 1932
12.Albrecht Pfister. citing Füssel 2005 (Gutenberg and the Impact of Printing), p. 49; Scholderer 1912
13.Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim. citing Löffler, Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), after Zedler 1901
14.Subiaco Press. citing no inline citation
15.Ulrich Zell. citing Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Ulrich Zell"
16.Ulrich Han. citing Lülfing, Neue Deutsche Biographie 7, p. 601; Davies, "Han, Ulrich", Oxford Companion to the Book (2010)
17.Berthold Ruppel. citing University Library of Basel, "Berthold Ruppel" (ub2.unibas.ch)
18.Günther Zainer. citing Steinberg 1961 (Five Hundred Years of Printing), pp. 53-56
19.Johann and Wendelin of Speyer. citing Wallau, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Johann and Wendelin von Speyer"
20.Anton Koberger. citing no inline citation for these lines
21.The first Paris press: an account of the books printed for G. Fichet and J. Heynlin in the Sorbonne, 1470-1472. Anatole Claudin, 1898, Bibliographical Society, London
22.Sixtus Riessinger. citing no inline citation for these lines
23.Bernardo Cennini. citing no inline citation for these lines
24.Juan Párix. citing Reyes Gómez, "Juan Párix", Diccionario Biográfico (Real Academia de la Historia); Reyes Gómez 2005, Segovia y los orígenes de la imprenta española
25.Sinodal de Aguilafuente. citing no inline citation for these lines
26.History of printing in Poland. citing Wydra 1987 (Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 62), p. 88; Davies, God's Playground
27.Kasper Straube. citing no inline citation
28.Dirk Martens. citing IJsewijn and Tournoy 2015 (Humanism in the Low Countries), pp. 114-115
29.John of Westphalia. citing no inline citation
30.András Hess. citing Borsa and Soltész 1973 (Az első magyarországi nyomda története)
31.Lucas Brandis. citing no inline citation for these lines
32.Marcus Brandis. citing no inline citation for these lines
33.Lambert Palmart. citing Haebler 2005 (Impresores primitivos de España y Portugal)
34.The printers, stationers and bookbinders of Westminster and London from 1476 to 1535. E. Gordon Duff, 1906, Cambridge University Press
35.William Caxton. citing Encyclopaedia Britannica, "William Caxton" (Bruges); Timbs, Curiosities of London (Westminster)
36.Theoderic Rood. citing BMC XI (England), 2007, pp. 234-243; Duff 1917 with Hellinga 2009 (Printing in England in the Fifteenth Century)
37.Johann Snell. citing Den Store Danske, "Johann Snell"; Kulturarv, "Johan Snell's Printing Works"; Collijn 1917
38.Johann Snell. citing its literature (Steiff 1892, Lange 1891 and 1896, Lohmeier 1994)
39.Snell (Snel), Johann. Isak Collijn, 1917, Nordisk familjebok, 2nd ed., vol. 26, cols. 103-105
40.Faro Pentateuch. citing no inline citation
41.Arba'ah Turim. citing Simon 2011 (Judaica Librarianship 16), pp. 125-135
42.Hieromonk Makarije. citing Bibliografski vjesnik 2003, p. 23
43.Crnojević printing house. citing Singleton 1985 (A short history of the Yugoslav peoples), p. 30
44.Blaž Baromić. citing no inline citation for these lines

People

c. 1400 – 1468
Johannes Gutenberg

Timeline

41 arrivals in order: when it was first recorded in each place, from where and who carried it, with the sources for the date.

c. 1298 · Jingde · Movable type in East Asia
Wang Zhen, magistrate of the county, had a set of wooden type cut and sorted on revolving tables, and about 1298 printed a hundred copies of the county gazetteer with it; he described the method in 1313.
where it began[3][4][5]
1377 · Cheongju · Movable type in East Asia
At Heungdeok Temple outside the town, disciples of the monk Baegun printed his Zen anthology, the Jikji, with cast metal type in 1377; its second volume, now in Paris, is the oldest surviving book so printed.
[7][6]
c. 1450 · Mainz · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Gutenberg had his press for cast metal type at work here by about 1450; an indulgence in use by October 1454 is its first exactly dated print, and his 42-line Bible was finished by 1454 or 1455.
[9][10][8][1]
1460 · Strasbourg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johannes Mentelin, a scribe and notary, was printing here by 1460, the date of the first volume of his Latin Bible; where he learned the craft is not known.
[1][11][2]
February 1461 · Bamberg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Albrecht Pfister, secretary to the prince-bishop, printed Ulrich Boner's German fables with woodcuts here, dated 14 February 1461, with type that had come from Gutenberg.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][12][9]
1465 · Subiaco · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Konrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz, German clerics, set up Italy's first press in the abbey of Santa Scolastica; their Cicero was finished before 30 September 1465.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][13][14][2]
c. 1465 · Cologne · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Ulrich Zell of Hanau, who had learned printing in the shop of Fust and Schöffer at Mainz, was printing here by about 1465; his first dated book appeared in 1466.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][15][2]
1467 · Rome · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Sweynheym and Pannartz moved from Subiaco to a house of the Massimo brothers here in 1467, the year Ulrich Han finished Torquemada's Meditations, the first Italian book with woodcuts.
from Subiaco · by craftsmen[1][13][16][2]
c. 1468 · Basel · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Berthold Ruppel of Hanau, who had worked with Gutenberg at Mainz in 1455, had a press here by about 1468, when he printed a Latin Bible.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][17][2]
March 1468 · Augsburg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Günther Zainer, a painter and goldsmith who came from Strasbourg and probably learned printing from Mentelin, finished his first book here on 12 March 1468.
from Strasbourg · by craftsmen[1][18][2]
1469 · Venice · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann of Speyer, a goldsmith recorded at Mainz in 1460 and 1461, printed Cicero's letters here in 1469 and won a five-year monopoly from the Senate; by 1500 Venice had printed more editions than any other town.
from Mainz · by craftsmen[1][19][2]
1469 · Nuremberg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Sensenschmidt was printing here by 1469; Anton Koberger, who started about 1470, built the most successful publishing house in Germany and printed the Nuremberg Chronicle.
[1][2][20]
1470 · France (Paris) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Heynlin and Guillaume Fichet brought three printers from Basel to work a press in the Sorbonne, and its first book, the letters of Gasparino Barzizza, came out in 1470.
from Basel · by craftsmen[1][21][2]
c. 1470 · Milan · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Antonio Zarotto and Christoph Valdarfer were printing here by about 1470, and Milan became one of the six cities that held most of Italy's print shops.
[1][2]
1470 · Naples · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Sixtus Riessinger, a German cleric who had printed in Rome since about 1467, moved his press here and printed a lament for the fall of Negroponte in 1470.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][22][2]
November 1471 · Florence · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Bernardo Cennini, a goldsmith, worked out the craft from printed books he had seen and cast his own type; the first part of his Servius on Virgil is dated 7 November 1471.
[1][23][2]
c. 1472 · Segovia · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johannes Parix of Heidelberg came from Rome at the call of Bishop Juan Arias Dávila and printed the acts of the synod of Aguilafuente of June 1472, the first book printed in Spain.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][24][25][2]
1473 · Utrecht · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Nicolaas Ketelaer and Gerard de Leempt printed Peter Comestor's Historia scholastica here in 1473; older undated prints from the Low Countries are known, but not where they were made.
[1][2]
c. 1473 · Poland (Kraków) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Kasper Straube, a Bavarian printer, issued a wall calendar for the year 1474 here, the oldest known print from Poland, and worked here until 1477.
[26][27][2][1]
1473 · Aalst · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Dirk Martens, back from Venice where he had learned to print, set up a press in his home town with John of Westphalia, and their first books are dated 1473.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][28][29][2]
c. 1473 · Seville · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Antonio Martínez, Alfonso del Puerto and Bartolomé Segura printed an indulgence for Seville's cathedral, dated September 1473; their first dated book followed in 1477.
[1][2]
June 1473 · Hungary (Buda) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
András Hess, called from a press in Rome by the provost László Karai, finished the Chronica Hungarorum here on 5 June 1473, the first book printed in Hungary.
from Rome · by craftsmen[1][30][2]
August 1473 · Merseburg · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lucas Brandis dated his first books here in August and October 1473, then moved to Lübeck before the year was out; where he learned to print is not known for certain.
[1][31]
September 1473 · Lyon · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Guillaume Le Roy printed Innocent III's Compendium breve here for Barthélemy Buyer on 17 September 1473; Lyon became the second centre of printing in France.
[1][2]
1474 · Leuven · Gutenberg's press in Europe
John of Westphalia moved here from Aalst in 1474 and printed for the university until 1498; his edition of Crescenzi's Ruralia commoda is dated 9 December 1474.
from Aalst · by craftsmen[1][29][2]
c. 1474 · Lübeck · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lucas Brandis came here from Merseburg late in 1473 and finished his world chronicle, the Rudimentum novitiorum, on 5 August 1475; Lübeck printers later made service books for Nordic dioceses.
from Merseburg · by craftsmen[1][31][2]
c. 1474 · Bruges · Gutenberg's press in Europe
William Caxton, an English merchant who had learned printing at Cologne about 1471, printed the first books in English here from about 1474, in partnership with Colard Mansion.
from Cologne · by craftsmen[1][34][35][2]
c. 1474 · Valencia · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Lambert Palmart from Cologne ran a press here for a German merchant and printed the Trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria about 1474, held to be the first literary book printed in Spain.
[1][33][2]
1476 · England (Westminster) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Caxton came from Bruges with new type and set up shop by the abbey in 1476; an indulgence he printed bears the handwritten date 13 December 1476, and his Dictes of 1477 is England's first dated book.
from Bruges · by craftsmen[1][34][35][2]
April 1476 · Plzeň · Gutenberg's press in Europe
An unnamed printer issued the statutes of the Prague church province here on 26 April 1476, the earliest dated print known from Bohemia.
[1][2]
1477 · Deventer · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Richard Paffraet dated his first book here in 1477, and by 1500 Deventer had printed more editions than any other town in the Low Countries.
[1][2]
December 1478 · Oxford · Gutenberg's press in Europe
An unnamed printer finished Rufinus on the Creed here on 17 December 1478, misprinted as 1468; Theoderic Rood of Cologne printed here from about 1481.
[1][36][2]
September 1481 · Leipzig · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Marcus Brandis, who had learned printing from his brother Lucas at Lübeck and worked at Merseburg, printed the first book known from Leipzig on 28 September 1481.
from Merseburg · by craftsmen[1][32][2]
1482 · Vienna · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Printing began here in 1482 with an unnamed printer, perhaps Stephan Koblinger, who dated several books that year.
[1][2]
1482 · Odense · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Johann Snell of Lübeck, called by Bishop Karl Rønnov, printed a breviary for the diocese and Caoursin's account of the siege of Rhodes here in 1482, the first books printed in Denmark.
from Lübeck · by craftsmen[1][39][37][38][2]
December 1483 · Sweden (Stockholm) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Snell came here from Lübeck at the call of the Uppsala chapter to print its missal, and on 20 December 1483 finished the Dialogus creaturarum, the first book printed in Sweden.
from Lübeck · by craftsmen[1][39][38][2]
June 1487 · Faro · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Samuel Gacon had a Hebrew Pentateuch printed here, finished on 30 June 1487, the first book printed in Portugal; its only known copy is in the British Library.
[1][40][2]
July 1489 · Lisbon · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Rabbi Eliezer Toledano printed Nahmanides' commentary on the Torah here on 16 July 1489, and his Hebrew press worked until the Jews were expelled from Portugal in 1497.
[1][2]
December 1493 · Ottoman Empire (Constantinople) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
The brothers David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, Jewish exiles from Iberia, finished Jacob ben Asher's code Arba'ah Turim here on 13 December 1493, the first book printed in the Ottoman Empire.
by settlers and craftsmen[1][41][2]
January 1494 · Zeta (Cetinje) · Gutenberg's press in Europe
The monk Makarije, sent to Venice by Đurađ Crnojević to buy a press and learn the craft, finished an Octoechos in Church Slavonic here on 4 January 1494.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][42][43][2]
August 1494 · Senj · Gutenberg's press in Europe
Blaž Baromić, a canon of Senj who had learned printing in Venice, finished a Glagolitic missal here on 7 August 1494 with two partners.
from Venice · by craftsmen[1][44][2]

Sources

Works the dates are read from. Each arrival above names its own.

1.Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
2.Global spread of the printing press. citing Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (British Library) for most towns; Borsa 1976, p. 313 (Italy); Wydra 1987, p. 88 (Kraków); Blake 1978, p. 43 (Westminster); Dal 1987, p. 37 (Odense, Stockholm); Horch 1987, p. 125 (Faro); Güleryüz 2012, p. 90 (Constantinople); Borsa 1977, pp. 166-169 (Italy's six main printing cities)
3.Wang Zhen (inventor). citing Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 part 1 (Tsien 1985), pp. 206-208
4.王祯 (元朝). citing no inline citation
5.Movable type. citing Tsien 1985 (Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5 part 1), pp. 201-217; Man 2002
6.Jikji. citing UNESCO Memory of the World register entry; the book's own colophon
7.Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol (vol. II). UNESCO Memory of the World Programme
8.Gutenberg's life: the years of the Bible. British Library, Treasures in Full, Gutenberg Bible
9.Johannes Gutenberg. citing Wagner 2000, p. 74 (the press at work by 1450); Kapr 1996, p. 322 (the 36-line Bible)
10.Gutenberg Bible. citing Harry Ransom Center, The Gutenberg Bible; Wagner and Reed 2010, p. 11 (the 31-line indulgence)
11.Johannes Mentelin. citing no inline citation; its literature is Geldner 1968, Harthausen 1989, Schorbach 1932
12.Albrecht Pfister. citing Füssel 2005 (Gutenberg and the Impact of Printing), p. 49; Scholderer 1912
13.Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim. citing Löffler, Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), after Zedler 1901
14.Subiaco Press. citing no inline citation
15.Ulrich Zell. citing Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Ulrich Zell"
16.Ulrich Han. citing Lülfing, Neue Deutsche Biographie 7, p. 601; Davies, "Han, Ulrich", Oxford Companion to the Book (2010)
17.Berthold Ruppel. citing University Library of Basel, "Berthold Ruppel" (ub2.unibas.ch)
18.Günther Zainer. citing Steinberg 1961 (Five Hundred Years of Printing), pp. 53-56
19.Johann and Wendelin of Speyer. citing Wallau, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Johann and Wendelin von Speyer"
20.Anton Koberger. citing no inline citation for these lines
21.The first Paris press: an account of the books printed for G. Fichet and J. Heynlin in the Sorbonne, 1470-1472. Anatole Claudin, 1898, Bibliographical Society, London
22.Sixtus Riessinger. citing no inline citation for these lines
23.Bernardo Cennini. citing no inline citation for these lines
24.Juan Párix. citing Reyes Gómez, "Juan Párix", Diccionario Biográfico (Real Academia de la Historia); Reyes Gómez 2005, Segovia y los orígenes de la imprenta española
25.Sinodal de Aguilafuente. citing no inline citation for these lines
26.History of printing in Poland. citing Wydra 1987 (Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 62), p. 88; Davies, God's Playground
27.Kasper Straube. citing no inline citation
28.Dirk Martens. citing IJsewijn and Tournoy 2015 (Humanism in the Low Countries), pp. 114-115
29.John of Westphalia. citing no inline citation
30.András Hess. citing Borsa and Soltész 1973 (Az első magyarországi nyomda története)
31.Lucas Brandis. citing no inline citation for these lines
32.Marcus Brandis. citing no inline citation for these lines
33.Lambert Palmart. citing Haebler 2005 (Impresores primitivos de España y Portugal)
34.The printers, stationers and bookbinders of Westminster and London from 1476 to 1535. E. Gordon Duff, 1906, Cambridge University Press
35.William Caxton. citing Encyclopaedia Britannica, "William Caxton" (Bruges); Timbs, Curiosities of London (Westminster)
36.Theoderic Rood. citing BMC XI (England), 2007, pp. 234-243; Duff 1917 with Hellinga 2009 (Printing in England in the Fifteenth Century)
37.Johann Snell. citing Den Store Danske, "Johann Snell"; Kulturarv, "Johan Snell's Printing Works"; Collijn 1917
38.Johann Snell. citing its literature (Steiff 1892, Lange 1891 and 1896, Lohmeier 1994)
39.Snell (Snel), Johann. Isak Collijn, 1917, Nordisk familjebok, 2nd ed., vol. 26, cols. 103-105
40.Faro Pentateuch. citing no inline citation
41.Arba'ah Turim. citing Simon 2011 (Judaica Librarianship 16), pp. 125-135
42.Hieromonk Makarije. citing Bibliografski vjesnik 2003, p. 23
43.Crnojević printing house. citing Singleton 1985 (A short history of the Yugoslav peoples), p. 30
44.Blaž Baromić. citing no inline citation for these lines

History

Technological factors

Gutenberg's press

Operation

Mass production and spread in Europe

Global spread

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Text from the Wikipedia article “Printing press”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.