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The printing press seems like it could have been invented 8,000 years ago easily

Why did it take so long?
curious orchid regret
  07/14/26
Fraud
soul-stirring brunch
  07/14/26
...
mahogany razzmatazz native
  07/14/26
...
soul-stirring brunch
  07/17/26
Superior anglo culture bro
bateful ratface
  07/14/26
...
vermilion hairraiser gay wizard
  07/14/26
...
gunneratttt
  07/14/26
yeah no
dashing scarlet public bath sex offender
  07/14/26
Why not? Ancients had letters/symbols, metal, ink, and paper...
mahogany razzmatazz native
  07/14/26
The paper Gutenberg used was made from cloth fibers. It was ...
curious orchid regret
  07/14/26
Are we talking a gutenberg type press or something equivalen...
dashing scarlet public bath sex offender
  07/14/26
If they had cloth they could have made paper. You don't need...
curious orchid regret
  07/14/26
correct that you don't need trees. does not follow that ther...
dashing scarlet public bath sex offender
  07/14/26
Early Roman Empire is probably the earliest for something re...
dashing scarlet public bath sex offender
  07/14/26
(L. Sprague de Camp)
NeumannMorgenste
  07/14/26
Sumerian news boy knocking you unconscious by throwing morni...
Topaz insanely creepy range
  07/14/26
Shoulda asked NSAM!
vivacious big-titted bawdyhouse
  07/14/26
...
Territorial menage pistol
  07/14/26
...
vivacious big-titted bawdyhouse
  07/17/26
...
Insecure alpha idiot
  07/17/26


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Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 12:40 AM
Author: curious orchid regret

Why did it take so long?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998216)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 2:29 AM
Author: soul-stirring brunch

Fraud

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998292)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 11:59 AM
Author: mahogany razzmatazz native



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998887)



Reply

Date: July 17th, 2026 12:38 AM
Author: soul-stirring brunch



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#50005615)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 12:42 AM
Author: bateful ratface

Superior anglo culture bro

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998217)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:32 AM
Author: vermilion hairraiser gay wizard



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998258)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 12:03 PM
Author: gunneratttt (gunneratttt)



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998898)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 12:49 AM
Author: dashing scarlet public bath sex offender

yeah no

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998222)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:25 AM
Author: mahogany razzmatazz native

Why not? Ancients had letters/symbols, metal, ink, and paper-like stuff.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998257)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:34 AM
Author: curious orchid regret

The paper Gutenberg used was made from cloth fibers. It was stupid easy. He got the idea for the machine from looking at German wine presses

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998259)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:37 AM
Author: dashing scarlet public bath sex offender

Are we talking a gutenberg type press or something equivalent to a stamp? 6000 BCE had people who could carve a design and repeatedly impress it into clay. Engraved stamp seals are known from the seventh millennium BCE. A press for mass producing written pages is a different thing and none of the shit needed existed. For instance you mention "paper-like stuff". The earliest known papyrus rolls are like maybe 3000 BCE. The type of ink that can be used for printing did not exist at all back then, in order for gutenberg to work it needed all kinds of innovations in oil based ink. The metal type needed was not realistic for the time (need standardization and repeatable castign). And also they didn't even having writing yet. Earliest full writing systems were like 3K BCE.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998261)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:39 AM
Author: curious orchid regret

If they had cloth they could have made paper. You don't need trees

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998263)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:46 AM
Author: dashing scarlet public bath sex offender

correct that you don't need trees. does not follow that therefore anyone who had cloth could easily have invented paper.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998271)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:53 AM
Author: dashing scarlet public bath sex offender

Early Roman Empire is probably the earliest for something recognizably like a printing press (50-200 AD). I think you could have had simple block printing a little earlier, like think a Roman or late-hellenistic workshop carving an entire page in relief on wood or another material, inked it and pressed papyrus on it. Mechanical page printing though, Early Roman empire. For movable metal type maybe late Roman Empire from 200-400 AD, but still unlikely. Roman metallurgy probably could produce the individual letter pieces. They definitely could cast bronze letters, but movable type is a lot harder than that. That's probably the absolute lower bound for something like a Gutenberg-like system. But still really unlikely. Would say 800-1200 AD is a good estimate for when it really became feasible.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998274)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 11:13 AM
Author: NeumannMorgenste

(L. Sprague de Camp)

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998734)



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Date: July 14th, 2026 10:41 AM
Author: Topaz insanely creepy range

Sumerian news boy knocking you unconscious by throwing morning Babylonian Times clay tablet

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998679)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 10:41 AM
Author: vivacious big-titted bawdyhouse

Shoulda asked NSAM!

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998682)



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Date: July 14th, 2026 11:57 AM
Author: Territorial menage pistol



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#49998879)



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Date: July 17th, 2026 12:28 PM
Author: vivacious big-titted bawdyhouse



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#50006419)



Reply

Date: July 17th, 2026 12:22 PM
Author: Insecure alpha idiot



(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5882549&forum_id=2#50006397)