The history and production of paper

Paper was produced for the first time in China in AD 105 and gradually replaced materials used until then – wood, papyrus and parchment.

Use of this new, high quality product moved westwards via Persia and Egypt until it spread across Europe in the tenth century.

Demand for paper in the twelfth century spurred the establishment of many paper mills, especially around Fabriano and Amalfi.

In 1453 Johann Gutenberg invented the typographic printing press, a fundamental step in the communications revolution. Books were finally produced in large runs and not only entered the libraries of monasteries and royal households, but were even bought by schools and individual scholars who had the economic means to do so.

The earliest paper manufacturing technique in Europe was based on the maceration of flax, hemp and rags. These plant derivatives were reduced to a pulp and put in tanks. Into these were placed rectangular pieces of wood covered by a screen of horizontal and vertical metal wires called chain lines and laid lines. An even layer of the paste was placed on the screen, the water allowed to drain off, and the resulting layer of paste left to dry. The sheets thus obtained were then immersed in glue so that ink would be less likely to soak into the paper.

A watermark could be created from a design of metal wires that was applied to the frame, and allowed the paste to settle in a certain pattern. The result was a mark visible in the sheet when held up to the light. Watermarks are indicative of the period, place and papermill where the paper in question was made.
The papermaking process remained unchanged until 1750, from which date paper was made using cellulose from bark, sometimes with coloured rags whitened with chlorine. The paper was not of good quality, would easily yellow and was not very resistant. From the end of the eighteenth century papermaking was fully mechanised and the process became chemical and industrial.

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