How you ever wondered how paper is made? Paper is so common in everyday use that you may not have given any thought into how it was actually produced. But it’s a very interesting process from turning plant into paper. Here we will take a look at a brief history of paper and how it is produced.
When Was Paper Invented?
There are many precursors to paper such as papyrus and parchment that have existed for thousands of years, though neither of these is true paper. It is estimated that paper first appeared in China in around 100 BC. Early forms of paper were made from chopped mulberry bark, hemp rags, and water that was later dried in the sun.
What is Paper Made From?
Paper is commonly made my pressing moist fibers of pulp together and drying them into flexible sheets. This pulp is usually derived from wood, rags, or grasses. Though, it can also be made from bamboo, cotton, hemp, or a wide range of other plant based materials
How is Paper Made?
The first stage of paper making is to make pulp from trees. Typically coniferous trees are used because the fibers make for a stronger paper. Pulp is commonly produced in a pulp mill where wood chips from these trees are converted into a fiberboard that is used by paper mills to create paper.
Pulp can be created using mechanical and chemical processes. Mechanical production of pulp involves debarking logs and cutting them into smaller pieces which are then placed in a grinder and ground into fibers. Chemical production of pulp involves taking debarked logs and cooking them with chemicals to remove unwanted material. The leftover material is then washed and bleached.
After the pulp is created the next step of the process is to mix the pulp with water and clean it. The fibers are washed, cleaned, and then dried. Sometimes chemicals may be added to the pulp to adjust the properties of the paper.
The pulp is then typically screened through mesh where water is removed and the fibers are spread into a thin sheet. The sheet then goes through a press where the web of papers is squeezed to further reduce the water content. The sheet is then passed through cylinders heated in excess of 100 degrees celsius to dry the paper. At this point finishing can be added to the paper and it can be cut or used further for printing.
Summary
In conclusion, paper has existed for thousands of years in one form or another. The first traces of paper have been found in China around 100 BC. Historically paper has been produced by hand, but now it is largely produced by machine. Paper is most commonly produced from taking trees and turning them into a pulp which is strained, pressed, and dried to form paper.
Sources:
https://quatr.us/china/invented-paper-ancient-china.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_paper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papermaking
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_(paper)
http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/resources/Printing/PaperMade.html