So I was watching this Studio Ghibli movie called From Up on Poppy Hill and there was this scene where they were reproducing newspapers with a simple stencil and rolling ink brush. Then I thought, "Wow, that's such a simple yet efficient way to print paper at home or anywhere before modern printers and computers became a thing!
And then, I suddenly thought about the first printing process that I learned about from my history class. I can't remember most of the details so I searched more about it and I was shocked to learn that it wasn't until 1436 when it was invented, and it was a much more complicated process than using a stencil. I also saw that before that, at least in Europe, books were so hard to come by just because of that reproduction issue!
Weren't there stencils in ancient Europe? I mean, there gotta be right? because their coins have design in them too and they were like pressing it into the coin in the minting process so why can't they do the same for paper? Am I missing something here? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!
So I think you're asking about why multiple technologies here didn't come together to produce forms of printing other than a direct-pressure press, and the answer is largely that printing technology is not the only thing that determines how books are produced.
There were means of printing before the Gutenberg Press, and Gutenberg's significant innovation was movable metal type, which was configurable and durable. Woodblock printing had existed since the 9th century in China, and was used for the printing of images in Europe, before the invention of the Gutenberg Press. The problem with early woodblock printing is the presses were not well aligned or designed for high-quality transfer of ink. This meant printing could be inconsistent, and required a specialist engraver to make the woodblock in the first place.
On stencils, I don't know of any use of a stencil for printing in the hand-press period (so up to 1800). I think the reason for this is likely that ink was applied to woodblocks (and later type) with leather balls, not a roller. You could apply the ink directly to the page with a stencil, but this was not done. Coins were not stencilled but punched, and one of Gutenberg's innovations was using the same methods of making coins to make movable type.
The main reason, though, is that mass producing books is also limited by the availability of paper. Paper mills were created in Europe in the 13th century, and paper was expensive. Before paper mills, books were written on vellum, which was extremely expensive, and was written on with inks created by artisans at high cost. If you transported a printing press to, say, 9th century England you still wouldn't necessarily be able to mass produce books.
I hope this helps, I'm happy to add sources if you would like them.