On April 26, a 35 m 2 was printed on the ground using wooden blocks, industrial paper and... a car. The giant letterpress print was produced by the International Gutenberg Society, a scientific association dedicated to the history of graphic techniques based in Mayenne, Germany. The operation celebrates the 625th anniversary of the birth of Johannes Gutenberg, who was born in Mayenne around 1400 and is considered the inventor of movable type typography.
The print features the first page of the Gospel according to John, as found in a Gutenberg Shuckburgh Bible, printed between 1453 and 1455 and preserved in the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz.
Inking by car and a diverted substrate
To create this 5 x 7.20 metre printing surface, twelve wooden typographic blocks were CNC-machined, then aligned on the floor.
After manual inking of the typographic surfaces, the whole was covered with large wooden plates to distribute the pressure without direct contact. The printing medium is a paper produced by Hamburger Rieger Gelsenkirchen, designed for plasterboard coating, says the association, which brings together people from all over the world.
On the first day, a touring car drove slowly over the plates, simulating a moving press. The process produced a continuous print despite a few plate movements.
The following day, a second impression was made by the public, who were invited to walk on the covered matrix. A gust of wind unfortunately damaged this second version, which was hoisted up after printing and now needs to be repaired before exhibition.
No Guinness World Records without ISBN!
The print will not be entered in Guinness World Records, as the organization requires an ISBN number to validate the work as a publication, a condition that is, to say the least, anachronistic when it comes to reproducing a page printed in the 15th century. However, far from chasing after titles, the Société Gutenberg is fully committed to an approach that is above all patrimonial and technical.
"Through this large-scale printing operation, the International Gutenberg Society Mainz aims to keep alive the legacy of Gutenberg, whose inventions sparked a media revolution that laid the foundations for the emergence of democracy."
The printed sheet will remain on display in the east choir of Mainz Cathedral until August 31, 2025. The association plans to cut out this giant page and offer fragments for sale, accessible to institutions, collectors or private individuals interested in this singular achievement.
