When they returned to Benno-san's shop, Myne quickly set to work on filling out the order form. She'd read a book about the history of the printing press before. While there were different versions, they all operated under the same mechanism: you ink whatever you wanted to print, then press down on another surface to make a copy. The only variable was how you did it. The earliest "printing" was of course the hand stencils on cave walls, but the earliest printed writing were actually Chinese seals. But each seal only had a few characters each; hardly what you'd call a book.
The first books were woodblock printing in East Asia (go Asia!). The upfront time to carve each block was still considerable and tedious, but after the first copy was done, you didn't have to write that page by hand anymore. The books were usually no more than fifty pages, but hey, that was fifty more pages she had right now.
Of course, the Gutenberg printing press was the ideal choice. Unlike wood block printing where each chip in the wood was permanent, the press's movable type allowed for edits in case of typos. Though, movable type was invented by the Chinese — not by Gutenberg, thank you very much! But...Gutenberg's printing press was also cumbersome and required metal, and, based on how expensive it was just to afford nails, it'd be a more than significant undertaking. Not to mention that was just to build the machine itself, never mind the individual type! And INK! Did they even have oil-based ink?
No, better start simple. She only had a year at best to earn enough money to buy another magic item's usage, and she needed a prototype first to prove her idea could work. Everything else could come later. One step at a time, Myne.
"This is what I was first thinking of." She drew a quick sketch of Gutenberg's printing press. She wasn't an artist by any means, but drawing equipment required technical skill more than anything. When she was done, she was quite proud she'd replicated the press from memory alone.
But after one glance at the machine, Lutz gave her a sideways look. "You're in over your head again, aren't you?"
She stuck out her tongue. "I said what I was first thinking of. We can modify it."
"How does it work?" he asked, frowning at the drawing.
She pointed to the extended arm of the printing press. "The paper goes in here, with the inked letters on top. You then fold that arm down into this big slab here, in the stand, and then press the slab down onto the paper. But I think it's too complicated for what we're doing now," she admitted with a sigh.
Mark-san took in the drawing, then nodded. "I'm afraid I have to agree. The scale of this project would be too costly right now."
"I thought as much. So we need to simplify it." She puffed out her cheeks, tapping the piece of chalk against her chin as she considered options.
"Do you need all of that?" Lutz asked. "What if we used only the stand?" Reaching over, he erased the arm of the printing press so it was just the body. "Then you can just put the paper and ink under the slab-thing—"
"Press," corrected Myne.
" —press , by hand."
"That could work," she murmured. She erased the drawing and set the chalk to the slate. After a few modifications between the three of them, they sketched a simplified printing press consisting of six slabs of wood.
The largest slab served as a base, with two vertical, thinner ones acting as a stand. The topmost slab had a hole in the middle where a rod would be used to pull together two middle pieces of wood. The blank piece of paper and inked block would be placed underneath these two pieces. And to cut down on costs, they would use wooden blocks for printing like the Chinese did instead of the more complex movable type.
She couldn't print full-fledged novels—not yet—but it proved her concept, and would let her make simpler books that wouldn't require as many words, like picture books.
"Simple but effective," noted Mark-san once they were done. "Would this all be made of wood?"
"Most of it," she answered. "The slabs would be, but you'd need some nails to hold the structure together, and a metal rod." A screw press, specifically, but she didn't know if Mark-san knew what that was...never mind expect her to know it.
"The nails Master Benno can pay for, but the metal rod is...trickier. Can we not use a wood option instead?"
"We could, but a wooden rod would eventually get worn down, and might break. The upfront cost will be higher, but it's worth the investment to get a metal rod. And this is the simplified version. The first idea we started with would be a lot more expensive."
Mark-san considered this, a hand cupping his chin. "Very well. What dimensions would you need for the wood?"
Myne frowned. "What size paper do children's books usually use?"
Mark-san gave her that measured, curious look that she was slowly becoming accustomed to. "People do not usually write books for children. If they do, they are exceedingly rare, and only—"
"For the nobility," Myne finished, sighing, and Lutz pat-patted her on the shoulder, already predicting her mood. "Of course..." Well, children's literature came in all sorts of sizes back in her old life, from those tiny card-board books no bigger than her palm to those elaborate ones the size of a coffee-table book. But if she was starting simple, then smaller would be better. Even a little picture would take some time to carve.
"What about...this size?" She held out her hands to show about the size of the small pieces of paper they sold.
Mark-san nodded. "That will do."
Using that size as a guide, Myne wrote down the dimensions on the order form. The bottom piece of wood would have to be the biggest, of course, but altogether, it would be less than a foot in height and width. With any luck, this project would be easier than paper making. And Lutz won't even have to stand in freezing water!
Together, the three of them came up with the basic supplies they needed; Myne listing the raw ideas, Lutz offering suggestions for the materials, and Mark-san looking everything over for cost efficiency. "That should do it," Mark-san said at last, once they'd finished. "Are you feeling well enough to visit the shops, Myne-san?"
"I think so," she replied, and Lutz appraised her quickly, before giving a nod, too.
Their first stop was to pick out the wood at the lumber dealer's store. When they entered the yard, a young boy—likely an apprentice, based on his uniform and clean appearance—came up to greet them. But as soon as his boss saw them, the burly man strode over and almost batted the boy aside with a beefy hand.
His intense gaze passed over Lutz and even Mark-san to fixate on Myne. He squatted down so he was just inches from her face. "Yeah?"
She swallowed. "I need two types of wood," she said, hoping her voice didn't waver. "The first has to be strong and sturdy, with little warping. The finer the grain the better." Not only would the wood make for a durable stand, but it'd double to create clearer wood block carvings that could last longer and not blur the print with its wooden grain.
The man nodded, rising to his feet. Myne and company hurried to keep up with him through the looming rows of lumber. He came to a stop in the middle of one aisle, and nodded at two stacks of wood, one a reddish beige that reminded her of beech and another that was a dark chocolate brown. "You'll be wanting the hard woods, then. I'd recommend tawnis or sedney."
"My brothers use tawnis all the time to make furniture," Lutz spoke up, pointing to the wood that looked like beech. "It is hard to carve, but you can steam-bend it to make limbs for chairs and tables. It might be good for you, Myne, since its grain is really fine."
"Hmph." The man quirked one thick eyebrow. "Boy knows his wood. Might make a good carpenter."
"Thank you, sir." Lutz dipped his head, but Myne didn't miss the way his hands tightened slightly at his sides.
"We'll go with the tawnis," Mark-san said, voice pleasant as always.
The man nodded, turning to Myne. "And the other wood you wanted?"
"Something springy, but still sturdy." The wood would be used for the pressing slab so that it would have less resistance when springing back.
He showed them some options, and with additional input from Lutz, settled on pedisley, a light brown wood. After giving him the dimensions she needed on an order form, they thanked the man, then planned for their next stop. At this rate, they'd hopefully be done before dinner.
"Who can we talk to about metal-working?" asked Myne, as they ate a simple lunch of sandwiches Mark-san had prepared for them.
"I know of someone," Mark-san said, but he paused, looking hesitant. "His work is exceedingly skillful, but the man can be very...meticulous."
It didn't take long for Myne to understand what he was talking about. When they arrived at the blacksmith's store, they were soon greeted by a young man. He was tall and thin—almost too thin to be a blacksmith, Myne thought, but maybe that was cheesy movies talking—with his bushy, brown hair pulled back into a neat ponytail.
"Hello, Johann-san," Mark said, inclining his head. "This is Myne-san and Lutz-san. They have come to place an order."
"Pleasure to meet you," the man said, squatting down to their heights. "How can I help?"
"We need a metal rod that can smoothly move a wooden slab up and down," Myne explained.
His expression was surprised for a moment, before he leaned forward, eyebrows scrunching in thought. "Mm, you'll probably need a screw press, then," he said, nodding his head attentively. Myne hid a smile; so she wasn't the only one who knew what it was! "Iron will be best. How long do you want it?"
"Twelve inches."
"And what pitch?"
"That's...the steepness of the screw parts, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well...we're only going to turn it about a quarter of the way so it goes down a half inch or so..."
"So, steep pitch, probably. Got it. And thickness?"
"Two inches."
As they exchanged questions and answers, Myne noticed Mark-san and Lutz were glancing between them with befuddled looks. At some point during their conversation, Myne thought it'd be easier to communicate what she wanted if she were to draw the plans, but when she reached for her writing utensil, Mark-san shot her daggers, undiminished even by his genial smile. She quickly put away her chalk. Although, it turned out that Johann didn't need the extra visual. He listened with an intense, focused expression, and seemed to remember all the details without even writing them down (or so she hoped).
When they finally left, Mark-san gave her a funny look.
"What?" she snapped, pouting.
"My apologies," he said, inclining his head. "I am simply surprised. Johann-san has a reputation of being...very thorough. As I mentioned. It is excellent when doing fine work such as this, but not as desired when one requests a simple pan."
Myne giggled. Ah . So that's why he'd been so hesitant to come here. Johann could wrought the finest details in metal, but couldn't read between the lines for the life of him. She could just imagine some poor housewife testing her newly made pan over the craftsman's head after being subjected to his interrogations.
But Myne appreciated the attention to detail. More meticulousness meant less chances to mess something up because of miscommunications.
The sun had started to sink in the sky by the time they returned to Benno-san's store. They had ordered the parts they needed for the machine itself, but they still had to find someone to carve the wood blocks with pictures and text. But first, she had to figure out what to publish!
The rest of the trip home with Lutz passed in a happy daze as Myne dreamt of all the stories she could transcribe.