Moveable Type: A Print Revolution

In 15th Century Europe, the moveable type printing press was cutting edge technology. Prior to its introduction to England by William Caxton in 1476, books had to be laboriously transcribed by hand or printed from whole page woodblocks. Moveable type made it possible to cheaply produce hundreds of copies of popular works such as The Bible, The Canterbury Tales and Le Morte d’Arthur. We thought it would be interesting to share how moveable type worked and see what’s changed over the centuries.

Chinese Origins

The Chinese were centuries ahead of their European cousins. The concept of moveable type was invented by Bi Sheng in 1041. He relief-cut Chinese symbols into porcelain clay that was then kiln-fired. The individual symbols could be arranged to spell out a message that would then be dipped in ink and printed onto silk. Crucially, the same symbols could then be rearranged to spell out a different message. Hence: ‘moveable’ type.  

Different Materials

Bi Sheng also experimented with wooden type. He rejected this method as the grain of the wood and the medium’s tendency to absorb ink led to uneven results. However, the it was the wooden version that was widely taken up (perhaps because it was easier to carve wood than bake porcelain) and there are far more surviving documents that were printed with wooden moveable type than pottery moveable type from this era (the Song Dynasty).

The technology really took off once Chinese printers started casting their type in bronze. Metal moveable type printing was adopted for paper money and official documents.

European Innovation

It’s an open question whether moveable type technology spread from China to Europe or whether the technology was invented independently. The German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg is generally credited with the development of the European version in 1457. He certainly introduced many innovations, including: a process for mass producing metal moveable type, oil-based inks and a screw system for even pressing. By 1480, there were 110 presses in operation across Europe including Caxton’s London press.

Modern Printing

Eventually, moveable type printing was superseded by modern Offset Lithographic Printing and Digital Printing. These techniques utilise computers to produce cost-effective results for high and low volume printing jobs.

If you have a project that requires modern printing methods, then the team here at Colour Print are ready to help. Email sales@col-print.co.uk or give us a call on 01603 488001. 

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