Johannes Gutenberg develops around 1450 in Mainz a system of metal movable type made of a lead-tin-antimony alloy, together with a screw press and adapted oil-based inks. The first documented edition is the Gutenberg Bible (1455). The system is an independent development relative to Bi Sheng's clay-type printing (China, c.1040), with no evidence of direct transmission between the two traditions. European printing transforms the production and circulation of knowledge in the West.