The invention of a new ICT, the printing press, may have been a fundamental turning point in knowledge transition. But did Gutenberg’s printing press succeed in Europe because of, or despite of, government intervention? To answer the question, this paper endeavours to make a comparative analysis of the role of governments in the invention, adoption and dissemination of the printing press in Europe, Korea and the Ottoman Empire. It shows that governments had a major impact on printing technology in both the West and the East.