A printing press is a device that squeezes ink onto paper or a fine print surface. The development and spread of the press was one of the most influential events of the second millennium as it created an intellectual and social revolution, marked the beginning of the mass media, and escorted the modern age. German Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440, when he created a screw press. A print press is used to publish books and newspapers. Over a period of time the word 'press' turned to mean not only the metal machine used, but also the company that used it; the word comes from the act of pressing the type against the surface of the paper.
Before the 14th century the usual method of printing information was by using blocks of wood, or etching material like leather. When Gutenberg invented folding to create mobile type, it became a much faster process, and thus commercially profitable.
