Trivia: Where printing began

The printing press was invented in Germany by the goldsmith and printer Johannes Gutenberg in 1447. Printing methods based on Gutenberg's printing press spread rapidly throughout first Europe and then the rest of the world, replacing most block printing and making it the sole progenitor of modern movable type printing.

The printing press was invented in Germany by the goldsmith and printer Johannes Gutenberg in 1447. Printing methods based on Gutenberg's printing press spread rapidly throughout first Europe and then the rest of the world, replacing most block printing and making it the sole progenitor of modern movable type printing. Printing's effect on civilization has often been discussed in terms of the effect of the "printing press" on civilization—a rhetorical device, which alludes to the pivotal role of the printing press in the global spread of printing.

Movable type printing, which allowed individual characters to be arranged to form words, is a separate invention from the printing press. In what is regarded as an independent invention, movable type printing as we know it today was invented in Germany by Gutenberg in the 1440s, although the first known invention was in China by Bi Sheng between 1041 and 1048.

Adapted from Wikipedia