Print works. 16th or 17th century engraving of a printery. The plates of type are being set at far left, being checked and corrected at centre left, and are being coated in ink at upper centre. The printing press (at upper right) works by pressing a horizontal, inked plate down onto the paper by manually turning a screw-threaded column. The sheets of paper are then hung out to allow the ink to dry before compiling them. Though previously known in China, European printing was independent- ly invented by Johann Gutenberg in about 1450. The mass-production of cheap text greatly advanced the spread of knowledge. Image taken from Nove Reperta (about 1600) by Jan Van Der Straet (Stradanus).