Hiking and printing: Iphofen celebrates the art of letterpress printing!

Hiking and printing: Iphofen celebrates the art of letterpress printing!

On October 27, 2025, an exciting excursion took place as part of an event organized by the Steigerwaldklub Iphofen that dealt with Gutenberg's important invention. The group that hiked from Iphofen to Sickershausen was fully booked, while another group traveled comfortably by car. Following the tour, everyone had the opportunity to share their experiences in an exchange format: one group hiked back while the other enjoyed a tour of the museum.

The aim of the event was the Officina Historical, a historical printing workshop in Kitzingen. Here Mr. Herrmann presented numerous exhibits and explained the importance of various printing processes. The audience was taken on a fascinating journey through time, ranging from cuneiform writing and printing processes from China to Gutenberg's invention in the 15th century. A particularly interesting part of the presentation covered Chinese techniques for reproducing texts.

Experience printing history up close

The historic printing workshop is located in the heart of Kitzingen and has made it its mission to preserve traditional printing processes. Old machines and tools such as angle hooks, types and hand presses are used to show how books have been made for over 550 years. In addition to interesting exhibits, visitors can also admire the smallest book in the world and get involved in workshops. Children have the opportunity to try out typesetting and printing under the guidance of club members.

Mr. Herrmann didn't miss the opportunity to demonstrate live to the participants how lead letters are made using a hand-casting instrument. He also discussed the engraving of music notes in copper plates in the 18th century, although the last plate in Germany was only engraved in 1995. Lithography in the 19th century was the most common printing process at the time.

A look at Gutenberg's invention

The relevant information about Gutenberg's invention is extremely exciting. His basic idea of ​​breaking down text into letters and punctuation marks and producing narrow metal stamps (letters) for each character revolutionized the world of printing. These punches were cut sideways into a block of steel and later used to create dies into which liquid metal could be poured. Thanks to this method, it was possible to produce about 3,000 letters per day, creating the basis for the mass production of texts.

Another step involved assembling the metal letters into rails, which enabled the letters to be reused. This was a crucial step towards faster and more efficient production methods. Gutenberg himself used an advanced screw press that significantly accelerated the printing process and used a special printer ink that he had developed himself.

The event ended with a social gathering in the Weißer Ross, where the participants exchanged their impressions and experiences over a meal together. As a thank you for his informative lecture, Mr. Herrmann received a tilting bird nesting box, a nice token of appreciation.

Overall, the day was a successful mix of education and sociability, which immersed the participants in the history of printing in an exciting way. For anyone interested in the art of printing and historical processes, it is worth visiting the historical printing workshop, which offers an insight into the world of book production and focuses entirely on the preservation and understanding of these traditional techniques.

Please also visit the Mainpost website for further details about the event and the Planet Wissen website for more information about Gutenbergs Inventions.