Around 1480 letterpress printing started to come into its own. Books no longer had to resemble manuscripts. Different formats were introduced, title pages were developed and individual illustrations were replaced by integrated wood cut illustrations.

Konrad von Megenberg: Buch der Natur. (Book of Nature) Augsburg 1482

Later, not only Latin, the language of scholars, but, to an increasing extent, also the vernacular was used. Printed books with medical and natural science information, prints of maps of Europe and the world, calendars and almanacs - all of these began to spread throughout Europe. The price of a book dropped to one-half and even to one-fourth of the original price.