<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink . It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the cloth, paper or other medium was brushed or rubbed repeatedly to achieve the transfer of ink, and accelerated the process . Typically used for texts, the invention and global spread of the printing press was one of the most influential events in the second millennium . </P> <P> Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith by profession, developed, circa 1439, a printing system by adapting existing technologies to printing purposes, as well as making inventions of his own . Printing in East Asia had been prevalent since the Tang dynasty, and in Europe, woodblock printing based on existing screw presses was common by the 14th century . Gutenberg's most important innovation was the development of hand - molded metal printing matrices, thus producing a movable type based printing press system . His newly devised hand mould made possible the precise and rapid creation of metal movable type in large quantities . Movable type had been hitherto unknown in Europe . In Europe, the two inventions, the hand mould and the printing press, together drastically reduced the cost of printing books and other documents, particularly in short print runs . </P> <P> The printing press spread within several decades to over two hundred cities in a dozen European countries . By 1500, printing presses in operation throughout Western Europe had already produced more than twenty million volumes . In the 16th century, with presses spreading further afield, their output rose tenfold to an estimated 150 to 200 million copies . The operation of a press became synonymous with the enterprise of printing, and lent its name to a new branch of media, "the press". </P>

Who invented the first printing press and in what year