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In about 1440, Johannes Gutenberg credited the modern movable type printing from individually cast, reusable letters set together in a form. He also invented a wooden printing press where the type surface was inked with leather covered ink balls and paper laid carefully on top by hand, then slid under a padded surface and pressure applied from above by a large threaded screw.
Later metal presses used a knuckle and lever arrangement instead of the screw, but the principle was the same. Ink rollers made of composition made inking faster and paved the way for further automation.
Inking was carried out by rollers that passed over the face of the type, then moved out of the way onto a ink plate to pick up a fresh film of ink for the next sheet. Meanwhile, a sheet of paper slid against a hinged platen, which then rapidly pressed onto the type and swung back again as the sheet was removed and the next sheet inserted. As the fresh sheet of paper replaced the printed paper, the now freshly-inked rollers ran over the type again.