The History of Printing Houses

Early printing houses (near the time of Gutenberg) were run by "master printers."  These printers owned shops, selected and edited manuscripts, determined the sizes of print runs, sold the works they produced, raised capital and organized distribution. Some master printing houses, like that of Aldus Manutius, became the cultural center for literati such as Erasmus.

• Print shop apprentices: Apprentices, usually between the ages of 15 and 20, worked for master printers.  Apprentices were not required to be literate, and literacy rates at the time were very low, in comparison to today.  Apprentices prepared ink, dampened sheets of paper, and assisted at the press.  An apprentice who wished to learn to become a compositor had to learn Latin and spend time under the supervision of a journeyman.
• Journeyman printers: After completing their apprenticeships, journeyman printers were free to move employers.  This facilitated the spread of printing to areas that were less print-centered.
• Compositors: Those who set the type for printing.
• Pressmen: The person who worked the press. This was physically labour-intensive.

The earliest-known image of a European, Gutenberg-style print shop is the Dance of Death by Matthias Huss, at Lyon, 1499.  This image depicts a compositor standing at a compositor's case being grabbed by a skeleton. The case is raised to facilitate his work.  At the right of the printing house a bookshop is shown.