Ordinary people read newspapers and books, but where did printing begin? All this was possible thanks to Johannes Gutenberg's movable type printing press. Johannes first conceived this idea of ​​the printing press in the 15th century to speed up the slow process of book production (Bantwal). The movable type printing press, the first true technology of its kind, helped solve problems, but in turn also caused problems. This technology has influenced many areas of life throughout his lifetime. This includes challenging the church and poisoning people with increased toxins from mass production of materials. Depending on your point of view, this invention could be the best or worst thing to happen in the 15th century. Regardless, the influence of the printing press was widespread and thus was a great invention for the machine age. Despite the negative repercussions of Gutenberg's mobile printing press, the machine is a positive technology. Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press in 1452. Four other technologies, more or less common in different parts of the world, made the printing press possible. The first technology was wine/olive screw press technology, used in areas of Asia and Europe to obtain oils and create wines. The second invention was the block printing technology that Marco Polo originally brought to Europe. A third technology is oil-based ink, invented in the 19th century. Because this ink bleeds onto parchment, the press did not use this ink. Parchment was expensive, but durable, so books that took a while to make used this material. Finally, the fourth material was paper, of which many processes produce different shapes throughout the world (Bantwal). Gutenberg used these old technologies......middle of paper......to say thank you. Everyone should know the origins of many technologies around the world, and many of these lead directly back to the printing press. Without this invention, the world would have remained in the dark ages for generations. People, as a species, would be nowhere near what we have achieved. Works Cited Bantwal, Natasha. "History of Typography." Buzzle.com: intelligent life on the Web. Buzzle.com. Network. April 19, 2012.Spiaggia, Justin. “The Pros of the Printing Press.” EHow. Demand Media, April 8, 2011. Web. April 19, 2012.Jensen, Carolyn. "Jensen's review." Rev. of The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe. Lore. San Diego State University. Network. April 24, 2012. "Printing Press." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Network. April 22, 2012. Ross, Tiffany. “Adverse Effects of the Printing Press.” EHow. Demand Media, March 28, 2011. Web. April 19. 2012.