Question

select the best evidence to support the statement that the printing press made it cheaper to produce books.

the most famous invention from the renaissance is the one people still use today. the printing press is a machine that speedily makes multiple copies of the same book, newspaper, or picture. before the printing press, books had to be copied by hand, which took a lot of time and was very expensive. the printing press was invented in china between 500 ce and 700 ce. in the 1440s, a german metalworker named johannes gutenberg built the first printing press in europe. he also invented a new way of printing using metal moveable type. each letter and punctuation mark was made out of a tiny piece of metal. to print a page, gutenberg arranged the individual pieces of type in the correct order.

from lisa mullins, science at the renaissance. copyright 2009 by crabtree publishing company

Explanation:

The key evidence directly links the pre-printing press method (hand-copying) to high cost, and contrasts it with the printing press's efficiency, which implies lower production costs. The statement explicitly states the hand-copying process was expensive, while the printing press streamlined production.

Answer:

"Before the printing press, books had to be copied by hand, which took a lot of time and was very expensive."