What type of machine did Leonardo da Vinci design to print books with movable type?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a printing press concept for producing pages with movable type.

The printing press had transformed European publishing after Johannes Gutenberg’s developments in the fifteenth century. Leonardo’s mechanical studies explored ways to improve the coordination of type, paper, ink, and pressure. His designs belong to a period when printers were seeking faster and more reliable production methods.

A printing press is not a typewriter, which creates individual characters directly as a person types, or a paper mill, which manufactures paper. The essential function of a press is transferring ink from prepared type or a plate onto a sheet.

Leonardo’s press-related designs are best understood as engineering proposals and refinements, not as proof that he invented movable type. Gutenberg’s work predates Leonardo’s mature career.