History of paper

The origins of paperWhen we think of the origins of paper, our minds might wander back over 5000 years ago to the Nile river valley in Egypt.It was there that a marsh grass calledCyperous Papyrus  flourished. The Egyptians cut thin strips from the plant's stem. These strips were then layered in right angles to form a kind of mat. The mat was then pounded into a thin sheet and left in the sun to dry. The resulting sheets were ideal for writing on.

The birthplace of paperThe birth of paper, as we know it today, took place under the Chinese Han Dynasty in AD 105. Ts'ai Lun, a court official, invented a papermaking process which primarily used rags (textile waste) as the raw material with which to make paper.

Fiber sources

• Before the industrialisation of the paper production in Europe the most common fibre source were recycled fibres from used textiles, called rags. The fibres were from hemp linen and cotton.

The process of papermakingWhether using recycled

materials or fresh organic matter, the process starts by shredding the material into small strips and soaking them overnight to loosen the fibres. Next, the fibres are boiled for 2-6 hours, being turned every so often. When finished, the fibres are washed with fresh water to remove impurities and then small particles or specks are removed by hand. Cloth fibers, for example are often used for the creating of money and maps.

Papermaking in the 19th century

In the 1830s and 1840s, two men on two different continents took up the challenge, but from a totally new perspective. Both Charles Fenerty and Friedrich Gottlob began experiments with wood but using the same technique used in paper making. They invented a machine which extracted the fibres from wood (exactly as with rags) and made paper from it.

Different types of paper

White paper was the most desired of medieval papers.Most English paper is a coarse and gray color until the late 17th century. Other inclusions such as insects and leaves become trapped in the freshly molded paper.Starches and other chemicals are also used to make different types.

Methods for extracting fiber

 In 1843, a solution was at hand, Saxon Friedrich Gottlob invented a wood-grinding machine which produced groundwood pulp suitable for papermaking. This milestone was soon followed by an alternative way to turn wood into paper: chemical pulp was first patented in 1854 by Hugh Burgers and Charles Watt.

The Values of paper

Reference

• http://www.hqpapermaker.com/paper-history/• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_paper• http://www.paperonline.org/history-of-paper/

timeline• http://www.paperonline.org/downloads/videos• http://users.stlcc.edu/nfuller/paper/

Created by :

Roberto Kostovand

Ivailo Plamenov