Watch a Gutenberg Printing Press in Action

In the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, revolutionizing the way the written word was disseminated. Nowadays, there’s only one fully functional Gutenberg press in the world, and it lives at the Crandall Printing Museum in Alpine, Utah.

In the short video above, a museum employee demonstrates how the printing press actually worked. It’s an intricate and laborious process, which requires rigorous attention to detail and some pretty serious upper body strength. But for Gutenberg and readers in the 15th century, all that labor was certainly worth it. As the museum website notes, “For Gutenberg, inventing a press that could mass produce the written word was a holy calling and an art form … Gutenberg changed the world.” Watch it in action below.