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Printing using a printing press dates back to the 15th century in Europe (invented by Johann Gutenberg), although the technique had been developed and used earlier in China. An example is the Diamond Sutra of AD 868, a Buddhist scripture, which is the earliest known dated work of block printing. For a more detailed history of printing, see the printing press article.
Books are usually printed today using the technique of offset printingThe Offset Printing process Offset printing is a widely used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") first to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is ba, ocassionally relief printA relief print is an image created by the printmaking process of applying ink to a raised image on a plate or board and printing the resulting image onto paper. Examples of relief techniques are woodcut, linocut, and some collography. Contrast with intagl (which is principally used for newspaperBrookgreen Gardens Pawleys Island, South Carolina A newspaper is a lightweight and disposable publication, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint, containing a journal of current news in a variety of topics. These topics can include politicals and catalogues).Even though the process was independently researched in China, Gutenberg's achievement in Europe should not be underestimated. He developed a variety of techniques that remained in use until the industrial revolution.
However, all of these things existed in Eastern Asia long before Gutenberg. It is possible that he heard about them due to trade with the Far East (see Silk road). Chinese scholars Lio Guojun and Zhen Rusi hold that "it appears that Gutenberg simply applied the Chinese principles to the German alphabet and introduced a few technical improvements." Some even credit another man, Laurens Janszoon Coster, with the introduction of the printing press in Europe.
However, Gutenberg's achievement should be measured not in the development of printing, but in the economic establishment of printing with moveable type. Although the process was known and used in Asia, due to a governmental monopoly on the process no similar acceptance and spread can be observed in that part of the world, as compared to Europe. Printing developed into is current form, with all its economic, cultural, and scientific implications, exclusively in Europe. Gutenberg must be credited with recognizing this potential and putting it into practice.