(12-18-2017, 09:58 PM)Stormblade Wrote: Is there a printing press? Or rather, are books something that can be mass produced cheaply or do they need to be hand-written/hand-copied and are therefore relatively expensive to buy and own?
On the one hand, some of Eorzea's publications use block printing (not exactly a "printing-press" but it is an effective mass-production printing technique that's been in use for a long time):
Encyclopedia Eorzea - Publishments of Eorzea Wrote:Lettered residents of Eorzea's major cities turn to printed publications to stay abreast of the latest rumors and affairs of the realm.
Encyclopedia Eorzea - Publishments of Eorzea Wrote:A block print from an article on the looming threat of Dalamud that ran just prior to the Seventh Umbral Era, as depicted by a Far Eastern artist who was visiting Limsa at the time.
Encyclopedia Eorzea - Publishments of Eorzea Wrote:An illustration from a Mythril Eye article covering All Saints' Wake festivities. A black-and-white block print was colored by the hand of a mammet to create this eye-catching image.
On the other hand, the Order of Nald'thal is copying their entire library by hand (though this may be because they're copying the tomes in miniature):
All Booked Up Wrote:The Order of Nald'thal has been making copies of its library, in preparation for the worst. The thought of Arrzaneth Ossuary falling into the enemy is a sobering idea. The most valuable tomes are being copied in miniature so they may be secreted away; the thaumaturges seek spectacles for this reason.
There's a couple instances where "prints" gets used in reference to books or newspapers, so it's a possibility:
Gerolt Wrote:Er...anyroad, there's prints aplenty o' the Trials, but I've heard nothin' about another copy o' the Book of Netherdark. Like as not, that's why ye never saw it in Radz-at-Han.
Amh Garanjy Wrote:Once The Raven printed word of our activities in its publication, however, we were contacted by an anonymous supporter─a generous benefactor who offered to fund the entire celebration, gifts and all.
It's hard to say definitively. A large portion of Eorzea's population is illiterate. There are some formal education, schools, and libraries - though most of the libraries are guild libraries - and a number of books/bookshelves housing items exist detailing various written works:
