Social Science — CBSE Class 10 board question

Print in Europe — The Gutenberg Press:

Before print, books were copied by hand, which was slow and expensive. Johann Gutenberg, drawing on his knowledge of wine/olive presses and metal-casting, developed the moveable type printing press by 1448. He adapted the olive press as the model and used metal moulds to cast letter types for the Roman alphabet.

• His first book was the Bible — 180 copies printed in three years.
• Between 1450–1550, printing presses spread across Europe; printers from Germany helped set up presses in other countries.
• By the late 15th century, 20 million printed copies flooded European markets; this rose to 200 million in the 16th century.

This shift from hand-copying to mechanical printing led to the Print Revolution.

Source: Chapter 5, Section 2.1 — Gutenberg and the Printing Press

---

Examiners expect three clear points for 3 marks:

1. Background/invention — Gutenberg's background and how he developed the press (~1 mark)
2. First output — the Bible, speed of production (~1 mark)
3. Spread across Europe and scale of production — presses set up 1450–1550, book figures (~1 mark)

Avoid writing an essay. Name Gutenberg, mention moveable type, the Bible, and the spread across Europe. The book production statistics (20 million / 200 million) are a favourite examiner point.