Paper Historical Introduction

This Section is Currently Under Construction

 

 

1.  PAPER  

1.1  HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

Paper is generally defined as a formed sheet consisting of fibers that have bonded into a flexible mat used as a substrate for writing or printing.   Unlike cloth, where threads are woven into sheets, paper is formed from matting individual hydrated fibers together, then binding them by partial dehydration.

For more than 1800 years paper has been used to record the written language of hundreds of civilizations.  It has evolved from a specialized art created by hand to a refined mechanized industry, employing thousands of workers and producing millions of tons of paper a year.  In 1993 the United States produced 89 million tons alone. (Waldens)

1.2  ANCIENT ART

1.2.1  Ts’ai Lun  

It’s not known whether Ts’ai Lun was actually the inventor or a refiner of the process, but his name appears in the earliest known record of the creation.  This record dates from 105AD, but it is thought that it might have taken several years to develop the process far enough to report it to the emperor’s court. (Hunter)    

Scholars believe that Ts’ai Lun used woven cloth stretched over a bamboo frame and dipped the frame into a vat of pulp. The pulp was produced from macerating and hydrating scrap pieces of tree bark, fish nets, and rags.  The pulp fiber was produced with a mortar and pestle, and then hydrated by submersion in a vat of water.  The cloth covered frame was submerged into the vat, leveled and pulled out lifting a mat of fibers and allowing the water to drain through the cloth.  The mat and frame were dried in the sun, allowing the paper to strengthen. (Hunter, Walden’s )

1.2.2  Asia and the Middle East      

For over 600 years the secret to making paper was kept in Asia.  Paper-making knowledge spread throughout China and eventually to Japan.  Paper was so highly prized in Japan that every year 20,000 sheets of the finest paper supplied by the various paper-makers were presented to the emperor every year. (Hunter) 

Paper found its way to Samarkand, central Asia, by way of caravans traveling the major trade route spanning from china. In 751, Samarkand was invaded by an Arab Army who took paper-making prisoners to Baghdad.  From there the craft made it’s way to Egypt and then to Spain by the mid 900’s.(Hunter, Walden’s)

1.2.3  Europe and North America  

Although Spain had imported paper in the mid 900’s, it wasn’t until 1151 AD that Spain built its own paper mill in Xativa.  It was in this mill that the first major advancement in pup production occurred.  Eastern Fiber preparation had previously been accomplished by wetting rags, rolling them into balls, and  keeping them moist for several weeks allowing fermentation to deteriorate the material.  At the end of the fermentation period, 60% of the rag was suitable for pulp, while 30% was rotten beyond use.  The Xativa mill developed a more efficient method of creating pulp (based on the original method of using a mortar and pestle).  This new method was known as a stamping mill and was in use until the invention of the Hollander.  France also established its first paper mill around the same time and is credited to Jean Montgolfer who learned the craft as a prisoner in paper mill during the Second Crusade.(Hunter)

By the late 1200’s, Europeans further enhanced the paper-making process and introduced such features as the watermark and by the 1300’s added sizing .  The craft continued to expand through Europe and into England.  The next largest influence on paper manufacturing occurred in 1450, when Johann Gutenberg with his moveable type changed the book manufacturing process forever. (Hunter)

In 1678 William Rittenhouse established the first paper mill in North America and by 1690 the Massachusetts Bay Colony was issuing paper currency.  Meanwhile a new invention was being developed in the Netherlands to macerate paper making materials.  This invention, the Hollander, soon replaced the stamping mill and is still in use today. (Hunter’s, Walden’s)

1.3  MODERN MANUFACTURING

1.3.1  Fourdiner process

The next major advancement came in 1798, when Nicholas Louis Robert under the patronage and employment of a French Paper Maker, Didot developed a paper-making machine.  Louis Robert applied and received a patent for his invention, then proceeded to sell it to Didot.  Didot was looking for investors to build the machine and through his brother-in-law, relayed the paper making machine plans to the Fourdiner brothers.  The Fourdiners developed, built, and perfected the machine, which would revolutionize the industry.  The Fourdiner paper making machine is still the most popular design in use.

1.3.2  Cylinder mold process 

In 1809, while the Fourdiners were working on their machine, John Dickinson, also in England, invented another mechanical method of manufacturing paper, the cylinder mold machine.  Dickinson approached the problem in a slightly different way then Nicholas-Louis Robert.  Instead of pouring fibers through the forming wire, his machine dipped the forming wire into a vat, much in the same manner as hand made paper.  This allowed him to create water marks and four-sided deckled edges comparable to hand couched paper. (Hunter, Sindall)

 

 

 

           

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