The first printing of the King James Bible in 1611 was done at Barker’s printing house at Nothumberland House, Aldersgate Street, close to the centre of London, using newly cast type on high-quality linen and rag paper.

The Bible was printed section by section, then bound. Barker does not seem to have had the equipment needed to allow each section of the book to be printed at the same time, so it really was a time-consuming job.

Printing methods had not changed much since the time of Gutenberg (inventor of the printing press in Germany in around 1450) or Caxton (the first English printer, in the 1470s). Although the cost of producing books was much less than handwritten manuscripts, the process was still very labour-intensive.

Printing Methods

The precise methods used by Barker’s print house are not known. It is likely that the first printing of the King James Bible would have gone something like this:

• The type would have to be cast.

The type used in the first printing of the King James Bible was very clear, which suggests that it was new and specially made for the job. The first printing of the book used black letter type, even though it was considered slightly old-fashioned.

This meant that even the typeface made a political and religious statement. The King James Bible was created to be read in churches. It was a large book meant for public use, not in the home. The heavy, black type symbolised the weight of the Church behind it. In contrast the Geneva Bible was printed in the more open and reader-friendly Roman type.

The basic idea of the King James version was that the authentic words of the Scripture itself should be set in black

letter type, with additional material in Roman type and some italic type to show alternative translations or difficult words.  

• The typesetter would hold the type mould in his right hand, pouring liquid type metal into the mould from a ladle.

The mould was then jerked upward to make sure that the hot liquid metal was forced into the indentation on a copper grid. Records from the time show that the technique of jerking the mould at just the right moment was very tricky and the typesetter would have needed strong wrists!  

• Next came the composition.

This is the process of constructing a page, including the layout of the type itself, along with any illustrations or ornaments. The compositor would set up the type for each page.

• In the meantime, paper would have been prepared for the printing process.

Limitations in ink technology meant that it was difficult to apply ink evenly to dry paper. The solution was to dampen the paper in advance.

• Next the “forme” (a wooden frame and padding to make sure the type didn’t move during printing) was put on the bed of the printing press.

Two men were needed to work a typical printing press at this time. One put ink to the type using an “inkball” and the other operated the lever that forced the plates on top of the paper, making sure of smooth contact with the inked type. The “inkballs” were leather pads, mounted in wooden cups with handles attached, which were stuffed with wool or horsehair. These were dipped in ink, then rolled over the type to ensure even distribution of the ink.

• Paper was then put into the press and lined up.

The pressman then pulled the lever of the press towards him, which operated a screw that brought the plates into contact with the paper, forcing it against the inked forme. The process was repeated for more and more pages. Once done, the paper was hung up to dry while the ink was removed from the forme and the type broken down, ready to be used again.

• The book made its way out to the public.

Because it was only a revised version of earlier translations, and not a new work, it had no set publication date, and it is not known how many were printed of the first big editions for use in churches.

When the first State Bible (the so-called Great Bible) was issued in 1540, 20,000 copies were run off. This was more than enough to provide one for every parish church in England, costing 10 shillings each (12 shillings bound). For the King James Bible, though, there is no record of either print run or price.