These “what if” questions give me a headache. Not that I don’t like them, but there is no evidence to strongly support them. I am inclined to just answer like this: had lithography or photography been available at the incunabula era, the 16th century would look just like the 20th. That is really the most logical answer of which I can think. But let me explain:

If, for example, linotype followed closely after the hand-press (perhaps as a way to hasten the compositor’s job and speed up the whole process) jobs would be at stake. The compositor was perhaps the most skilled worker besides the owner in the incunabula print house. Linotype is much simpler to create, though a good deal of spelling and grammatical skill is still involved. This would incur labor unrest not seen until the 19th century. Although, even the book details short (possibly daily) labor disputes between the master and his workers (Howard 87-91). And lithography? Forget about it! All the compositor’s skill is thrown to the wayside when you can make molded impressions of a page that can be reused indefinitely. However, with the newer machine technology, more skilled workers are needed who can operate and sometimes repair them. Regardless, a shift in technology will shake up the labor market – much to the dismay of employers.