Originally discovered in China, printing was reinvented and perfected in Europe in the 15th century at the instigation of the German goldsmith Gutenberg. He invented an efficient method to use identical sized letters and proceeded to combine existing techniques such as the use of a press and ink. Gutenberg’s Bible, 42 lines long and printed in 1454 in Mainz, is considered to be the first book printed in Europe using moveable type. The invention of printing was to play a major role in the spread of ideas during the Renaissance.