It is not just the paper, but the metallurgy of the type and as well. Gutenbergs crafts background was as a goldsmith. Block printing was well established in Europe his time (there was a veritable cloth printing industry in the Rhineland from the late 12th century on)
Printing on cloth instead of paper. You know, like with big stamps, and shit.Can you clarify what you mean by cloth printing?
Printing on cloth instead of paper. You know, like with big stamps, and shit.
The main problem would probably be "Why do we need such a machine when we have Greek scholar slaves to do it how we want and faster?" way way before any economical printing press came along.
Which society had a feudal science, ever? And Roman latifundia were among the worst, with slavery. And it got even worse later with Christianity, because merchants had to be others.
Of course, if you have no freedom, you can totally invent the world. Well, you're likely to do well with mental tortures of your master and overseers.
The main problem would probably be "Why do we need such a machine when we have Greek scholar slaves to do it how we want and faster?" way way before any economical printing press came along.
I don't think slaves would do it faster, really. Sure, you'd have to spend a bit of time setting up your printing press, but after that you could crank out pages much faster than a copyist could, and without introducing new errors or textual corruption.
Yes but as usual who puts up the money for the upfront cost? The uncertainty of innovation? Anyways without decent metal working and cheap reliable paper, a printing press isn't as economical as it was later. It can happen, but it would be a perfect d20.
That would require a major shift in philosophy by the Church, since its control over access to and interpretation of the Bible was part of its power. Increased literacy among the general population and the availability of personal copies of the Bible in the local language were contributing factors to the Reformation. When anyone can read the Bible, then anyone can interpret it the way they want. When Rome reestablished control over the Celtic Church (however one defines that term), one of its first acts was to order the destruction of all copies of the Bible in the Celtic language.A proclamation by the Church that everyone has to read the Gospels?