
Records put his presence there from 1434 to 1444. Exiled from Mainz in the course of a bitter struggle between the guilds of that city and the patricians, Gutenberg moved to Strassburg (now Strasbourg, France) probably between 14. What little information exists about him, other than that he had acquired skill in metalwork, comes from documents of financial transactions. Gutenberg was the son of a patrician of Mainz. Some scholars now think that the punch-matrix system emerged several years after Gutenberg’s death. However, in the early 2000s a computer-aided analysis of Gutenberg’s printed work showed that there was too much variation in characters of a given sort (e.g., the letter i) for his type to have been cast that way. Gutenberg was long thought to have also invented the punch-matrix system of casting metal type (in which a character engraved on one end of a hard metal rod, the punch, was used to strike an impression into a softer metal plate, the matrix, into which molten metal was poured to form any number of virtually identical pieces of type).

Gutenberg’s printing press was considered a history-changing invention, making books widely accessible and ushering in an “information revolution.” None of these features existed in the European technique used up to that time for stamping letters on various surfaces or in woodblock printing. Elements of his invention are thought to have included a metal alloy that could melt readily and cool quickly to form durable reusable type, an oil-based ink that could be made sufficiently thick to adhere well to metal type and transfer well to vellum or paper, and a new press, likely adapted from those used in producing wine, oil, or paper, for applying firm even pressure to printing surfaces.
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Johannes Gutenberg, in full Johann Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, (born 14th century, Mainz -died probably February 3, 1468, Mainz), German craftsman and inventor who originated a method of printing from movable type.
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