Gutenberg and the European Press
Johannes Gutenberg, working in Mainz around 1450, did not invent movable type, but he assembled a system in which every component reinforced the others. His contribution is best understood as a production process rather than a single device.
Four elements mattered. First, a hand mould that cast identical metal sorts quickly and to a consistent height, using a lead-tin-antimony alloy that filled the mould cleanly and wore slowly. Second, an oil-based ink, closer to a paint than the water-based inks used for woodblock work, that would adhere to metal. Third, a screw press adapted from wine and paper making, applying even pressure across a whole forme. Fourth, an alphabet of a few dozen letters, which made the reusable-sort economy overwhelmingly favourable.
The Gutenberg Bible of around 1455 demonstrated the result at a quality that competed directly with fine manuscript work. The technology spread rapidly: printers were operating in Italy by 1465, in Paris by 1470, and in England under William Caxton from 1476. Books printed before 1501, known as incunabula, survive in tens of thousands of editions.