Andreas Friedrich Bauer (18 August 1783 – 27 December 1860) was a German engineer who developed the first functional steam-powered printing press with his colleague Friedrich Koenig, who had invented the technology and sold it to The Times in London in 1814.
Life Bauer studied mathematics and philosophy in Tübingen and earned his doctorate in his faculty before apprenticed to a mechanic in his hometown Stuttgart. In 1805, Bauer emigrated to Great Britain, where he met Friedrich Koenig in 1807.epilog.de: Koenig&Bauers 1000. Schnellpresse - Illustrirte Zeitung - 1.4.1865 (in German), retrieved 17 February 2026 From 1815 onward, he was Koenig's employee and partner in England. Together, they developed, built, and improved, among other things, a high-speed printing press for the London Times.History of Information: Koenig and Bauer Remind Visitors to the Great Exhibition that They Invented the First Printing Machines, retrieved 17 February 2026
In 1818, Bauer and Koenig moved back to Germany and Bauer joined Koenig in 1817 to found Koenig & Bauer at the Oberzell monastery near Würzburg. Bauer's grave is located in the cemetery of Oberzell Monastery.
Printing capacity The table lists the maximum number of pages which the various press designs of Koenig & Bauer could print per hour, compared to earlier hand-operated printing presses:
Hand-operated presses Steam-powered presses Gutenberg-style ca. 1600 Stanhope ca. 1800 Koenig & Bauer 1812 Koenig & Bauer 1813 Koenig & Bauer 1814 Koenig & Bauer 1818Impressions per hour 240 480 800 1100 2000 2400
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