who invented printing press
View full size image. Johannes Gutenberg is usually cited as the inventor of the printing press. Indeed, the German goldsmith's 15th-century contribution to the technology was revolutionary â enabling the mass production of books and the rapid dissemination of knowledge throughout Europe.efore the invention of the printing press â sometime between 1440 and 1450 â most European texts were printed using xylography, a form of woodblock printing similar to the Chinese method used to print The Diamond Sutra in 868.