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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?
racy walnut theater
  07/14/26
Fraud
titillating self-absorbed legal warrant jewess
  07/14/26
...
mind-boggling pink library
  07/14/26
...
titillating self-absorbed legal warrant jewess
  07/17/26
Superior anglo culture bro
Violent garrison
  07/14/26
...
Judgmental Slate National
  07/14/26
...
gunneratttt
  07/14/26
yeah no
Soul-stirring dun dilemma
  07/14/26
Why not? Ancients had letters/symbols, metal, ink, and paper...
mind-boggling pink library
  07/14/26
The paper Gutenberg used was made from cloth fibers. It was ...
racy walnut theater
  07/14/26
Are we talking a gutenberg type press or something equivalen...
Soul-stirring dun dilemma
  07/14/26
If they had cloth they could have made paper. You don't need...
racy walnut theater
  07/14/26
correct that you don't need trees. does not follow that ther...
Soul-stirring dun dilemma
  07/14/26
Early Roman Empire is probably the earliest for something re...
Soul-stirring dun dilemma
  07/14/26
(L. Sprague de Camp)
NeumannMorgenste
  07/14/26
Sumerian news boy knocking you unconscious by throwing morni...
aromatic mentally impaired stock car
  07/14/26
Shoulda asked NSAM!
Stimulating Cruel-hearted Corner Juggernaut
  07/14/26
...
pungent pale reading party brunch
  07/14/26
...
Stimulating Cruel-hearted Corner Juggernaut
  07/17/26
...
Scarlet heady space
  07/17/26


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Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 12:40 AM
Author: racy walnut theater

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: titillating self-absorbed legal warrant jewess

Fraud

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



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 11:59 AM
Author: mind-boggling pink library



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



Reply

Date: July 17th, 2026 12:38 AM
Author: titillating self-absorbed legal warrant jewess



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



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 12:42 AM
Author: Violent garrison

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: Judgmental Slate National



(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: Soul-stirring dun dilemma

yeah no

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



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 1:25 AM
Author: mind-boggling pink library

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: racy walnut theater

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: Soul-stirring dun dilemma

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: racy walnut theater

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: Soul-stirring dun dilemma

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: Soul-stirring dun dilemma

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)



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 10:41 AM
Author: aromatic mentally impaired stock car

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: Stimulating Cruel-hearted Corner Juggernaut

Shoulda asked NSAM!

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



Reply

Date: July 14th, 2026 11:57 AM
Author: pungent pale reading party brunch



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



Reply

Date: July 17th, 2026 12:28 PM
Author: Stimulating Cruel-hearted Corner Juggernaut



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



Reply

Date: July 17th, 2026 12:22 PM
Author: Scarlet heady space



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