On February 23, 1455, many scholars agree that the Gutenberg Bible was published in Mainz, Germany. The Gutenberg Bible was one of the first books created with a printing press. Before the Gutenberg Bible, every book in Europe had to be copied by hand, letter-by-letter. This took a very, very long time and cost a lot of money. Johannes Gutenberg invented his own printing press. He also invented the metal blocks of letters and symbols (called moveable type) that could be arranged and re-arranged to make words. He wasn’t the first person to use moveable type, however. In China and Korea, printers had been using moveable metal type for more than a hundred years! The printing press allowed more people to be able to read books and learn more about the world around them. It changed communications, technology, education, politics, and the exchange of culture.