History of Papermaking

What is paper?

     We see papers were around us, do you know what the paper is?. Paper is a material produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grass, and drying them into flexible sheets. In the simple explanation the papermaking process is begins by mixing fibers into water then poured into thin screen nip by press rolls and dried until it reaches a certain moisture.
As figures it in the picture below.

    Pulp/fibers as a raw materials can be converted to a number of different products with a variety of product demands. In daily paper used for writing and printing, packaging, in many cleaning products, bags, and even some people use it for worship appliance. Newspapers magazines and books require a paper suitable for printing text and pictures on, strong enough to endure browsing and folding and in many case prefarebly able to last for generations to come so they can take part of information. In the production of diapers and tissue paper, the most important property is the pulp’s ability to absorb fluids. Paper has many advantages compare to other materials competing with paper for package purpose. It is obtained from a renewable raw material (wood or other plants) the pulping and the papermaking process have low effluents to the recipient and the paper packages are easy to recycle.

     The needs of papers increasing every year. paper-making technology more modern and large-scale in high production speeds.

Paper-making process can not be separated from the history of the invention of paper itself.

Ancient Papermaking

     The availability of writing materials has always gone hand in hand with the development of society. The earliest media for writing was stone tablet. Egyptian invented papyrus around 3000 B.C. Papyrus is made by crisscrossing thin sections of papyrus reed, its held together by natural glues within the reed when pressure is applied. The papyrus was smoothed by rubbing with smooth stones. Around 200 B.C. parchment, the tanned skin of sheep or goats was developed, replaced papyrus, as the papyrus plant requires subtropical condition to grow.

Papyrus

     The invention of paper is credited to Ts’ai Lun of China, in the year 105 A.D. was working on a papyrus substitute by decree of Emperor Hoti. He had paper from the bark of Mulberry trees that was treated with lime, bamboo and cloth. The Arabs captured a Chinese city containing a paper mill in the early 700s and from this started their own papermaking industry. Paper was first made in England in 1496. Here are photo gallery for paper making process in 14th.

Sorting Rags to gets fine paper

Rittering, makes the paper uniform binding, soft and gives it weights

The stemper/beater make the pulp yielded a better paper

Hollander beater to shorten fiber and fibrilate it surface and softening in the same time.

The workers make moulds for papermaking

Sheet former stock poured on screen mould

Gelatin sizing

Finishing process, smoothing paper.

Drying Process

Modern Papermaking

     Paper remainded a luxury item through the centuries, until the advent of steam-driven papermaking machines in the 19th century, which could make paper with fibers from wood pulp. In 1807 the fourdinier papermaking machine was patented in France. The Fourdinier brothers were able to increase their production of paper ten-fold, from 60 to 100 lbs. per day by hand, to 1,000 lbs. per day by using their new machine. Fifty yeasrs after the mechanization of the process, the price of the paper had dropped by almost one half.

Fourdinier Paper Machine

Wood based paper caused major transformation of the 19th century economy and society in industrialized countries.

Before this era, book or newspaper was a rare luxury object, and literacy was the norm. With the gradual introduction of cheap paper, school books, fiction, nonfiction and newspaper become slowly available to nearly all member of society, which can be considered as a part of the industrial revolution.