Actually, the concept of printing began in the 6th century AD. Prior to that, people wrote elaborate books on materials such as wood tablets, clay tablets, and calfskin. The real business of printing began in ancient China where the idea of block printing originated and was still widely used until 1400. In 1440 a German man by the name Johannes Gutenberg, invented the press and revolutionized the world of printing. Gutenberg printed a 36 line bible as well as a 42 line bible