The German inventor Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press sometime between 1440 and 1450.

A hand mold was created that enabled the rapid creation of large quantities of metal movable type.

Before him inventors in China and Korea developed metal movable type but Gutenberg was the first to create a mechanized process that transferred the ink from the type to the paper.

That increased the speed with which book copies could be made.

[Source: www.livescience.com]