Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Unlike woodblock printing, where each page required a separate hand-carved wooden block, Gutenberg's press used movable metal type — individual metal letters that could be rearranged to compose different texts. It could print 250 sheets per side per hour, making book production far faster and cheaper than carving individual blocks by hand.

Source: Chapter 5, Section 2.1 — Gutenberg and the Printing Press

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The examiner expects two clear points for 2 marks:

1. The key innovation — movable/rearrangeable metal type vs. fixed, hand-carved woodblocks.
2. The practical advantage — speed (250 sheets/hour) and lower cost/labour.

Avoid writing about hand-illuminated borders or how books looked like manuscripts — that's off-focus. Stick to the mechanical contrast between the two methods. The phrase "movable type" is a key term that should appear in your answer.