In 1450 Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. This was a major step forward in creating books and spreading information. Previously, all books had to be copied by hand, and this was both inefficient and labor intensive, making it a non-viable method of spreading information. The printing press was the beginning of a new era in civilization, marking the beginning of the industrial revolution. The way the printing press works is a typesetter will take a piece of type for each letter, and lay them out. The type is then used as a sort of stamp to put the ink onto the pages of the book. This made mass producing books and works of literature much easier. This, in turn, let the reformation spread much quicker. It also made the industrial revolution occur much speedier.