Before the printing press, text and documents were hand-copied by monks, and few individuals have access to them. The printing press is the most influential inventions of the past one thousand years. It revolutionized the accessibility of knowledge and information. Johannes Gutenberg invented printing press around the year 1440; he designed a device based on screw presses that, when partnered with inked movable type heads, allowed the paper to be quickly and efficiently pressed with letters. Johannes Gutenberg was a German blacksmith and goldsmith by trade.
