The History of First Paper, Before paper as we know it existed, people communicated through pictures and symbols carved into tree bark, painted on cave walls, and marked on papyrus or clay tablets.Ā About 2,000 years ago, inventors in China took communication to the next level, crafting cloth sheets to record their drawings and writings. And paper, as we know it today, was born! Paper wasĀ first made in Lei-Yang, China by Ts’ai Lun,Ā a Chinese court official. In all likelihood, Ts’ai mixed mulberry bark, hemp and rags with water, mashed it into pulp, pressed out the liquid and hung the thin mat to dry in the sun.Ā During the 8th century, about 300 years after Tsāaiās discovery, the secret traveled to the region that is now the Middle East. Yet, it took another 500 years forĀ papermaking to enter Europe. One of theĀ first paper mills was built in Spain, and soon, paper was being made at mills all across Europe.
Then, with paper easier to make, paper was used for printing important books, bibles, and legal documents. England began making large supplies of paper in the late 15th century andĀ supplied the colonies with paper for many years.
Finally, in 1690, the first U.S. paper mill was built in Pennsylvania.
At first American paper mills used the Chinese method ofĀ shredding old rags and clothes into individual fibers to make paper. But, as the demand for paper grew, the mills changed to using fiber fromĀ trees because wood was less expensive and more abundant than cloth. Today,Ā paper is made from trees grown in sustainably managed forests and from recycled paper. Recycling has always been a part of papermaking. When youĀ recycle your used paper, paper mills will use it to make new notebook paper, paper grocery bags, cardboard boxes, envelopes, magazines, cartons, newspapers andĀ other paper products.
TheĀ history of paperĀ is inextricably linked with that ofĀ cultureĀ andĀ science.
The spark that set off the invention of paper was simple but extremely significant.
Humans had an urgent need: to communicate certain information to each other in written form. The information had to be set on a lightweight and durable medium that was easily transportable. TheĀ invention of paperĀ allowedĀ papyrusĀ andĀ parchmentĀ to be replaced with a material that was easier and, with the advent of new production techniques, cheaper to make.
The arrival of digital media has perhaps obscured the fundamental role that paper has played inĀ spreading knowledge: it should not be forgotten that, until a few decades ago, the dissemination of any idea requiredĀ a sheet of paper.
Itās interesting to note that the firstĀ definition of paperĀ provided by the Treccani childrenās encyclopaedia in Italy is:Ā āA material that is essential for spreading ideas in everyday life. Over the centuries, paper has made an enormous contribution to progress, from enabling citizen participation in democratic life to raising levels of knowledge and education.ā
TheĀ history of paperĀ has mirrored the evolution of human society over the centuries: fromĀ the dissemination of scientific and philosophical knowledgeĀ to the spread of education right up to the creation of the kind of political and historical consciousness which gave birth of the modern nation state.
The history of paper: Chinese origins
Historical sources creditĀ the invention of paperĀ to Cai Lun, a dignitary serving the imperial Chinese court who, in AD 105, began producing sheets of paper from scraps ofĀ old rags,Ā tree barkĀ andĀ fishing nets. The Chinese guarded the secret of paper making jealously for many centuries until, in the 6th century, their invention was brought to Japan by Buddhist monk Dam Jing. The Japanese immediately learned papermaking techniques and began using pulp derived fromĀ mulberry barkĀ to produce this precious material themselves.
The history of paper: reaching the Arab world
TheĀ Arab worldĀ discovered the secrets of papermaking in AD 751, when the governor-general of the Caliphate of Bagdad captured two Chinese papermakers in Samarkand and, with their help, founded a paper mill in the Uzbek city. From here, aided by an abundance ofĀ hemp and linen, two high-quality raw materials perfect for making paper, production spread to other cities in Asia, particularly Baghdad and Damascus.
The process forĀ making paperĀ employed by the Arabs involved garnetting and macerating rags in water to obtain a homogenous pulp, which was then sifted to separate the macerated fibres from the water. The sheets thus obtained were subsequently pressed, dried and finally covered with a layer of rice starch to make them more receptive to ink. In the same period, people inĀ Egypt and North AfricaĀ also started to make paper using the same techniques employed in the Arab world.
Paper reaches Europe
It wasnāt until theĀ 11th centuryĀ that paper arrived in Europe, with the Arab conquest ofĀ SicilyĀ andĀ Spain. However, paper was quickly considered anĀ inferior-quality materialĀ compared to parchment, so much so that, in 1221, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II prohibited its use for public documents. Rice starch, in fact, was an attractive food source for insects, which meant sheets of paper did not last long.
TheĀ history of paperĀ owes much to theĀ paper makers of Fabriano, a small town in the Marche region of Italy, who started producing paper using linen and hemp in the 12th century. By using new equipment and production techniques, these papermakers introducedĀ important innovations:
- They mechanised rag grinding by usingĀ hydraulic hammer mills, significantly reducing the time it took to produce pulp.
- They started gluing sheets withĀ gelatine,Ā an additive that insects didnāt like.
- They created differentĀ paper types and formats.
- They inventedĀ watermarking.
Watermarking involved using metal wires toĀ add decorations to paperĀ which became visible when the sheet was held up to the light, allowing hallmarks, signatures, ecclesiastical emblems and other symbols to be inserted.
From the 14th century, papermaking began to spread to other European countries and, at the end of the 15th century, with theĀ invention of movable-type printing, production really took off. The discovery of America and the subsequent European colonisation brought papermaking to the New World. Interestingly, in his book āPaper: Paging Through Historyā, Mark Kurlansky tells a curious anecdote: when the North American colonies rebelled, they boycotted all British goods, except the fine paper produced by Londonās paper mills.
Paper as a means of mass communication
TheĀ industrial manufacture of paperĀ began in the 19th century with the expansion of mass-circulation newspapers and the first best-selling novels, which required enormous quantities of cheap cellulose. In 1797,Ā Louis Nicolas RobertĀ created the first Fourdrinier machine, which was able to produce a 60-cm-long sheet. As demand for papermaking rags outstripped supply, alternative materials were sought, likeĀ wood pulp. With the development of new techniques for extracting fibres from trees, the price of paper fell dramatically, and paper soon became aĀ product of mass consumption. In Britain alone,Ā paper outputĀ soared from 96,000 tonnes a year in 1861 to 648,000 tonnes in 1900.
Once again, theĀ history of paperĀ and the history of humankind were closely intertwined: with the spread of cheap paper, books and newspapers became accessible to all, leading to an explosion ofĀ literacy among the middle classes. But it wasnāt until the turn of the century that paper would be employed for other uses, like toilet and wrapping paper, toys and interior decoration.
The environmental impact of paper and environmental choices
Paper manufacturing usesĀ significant amounts of natural resources: between 2 and 2.5 tonnes of timber and 30-40 cubic metres of water are required to make one tonne of paper. Whatās more,Ā electricity and methane gasĀ are needed to power the industrial machines used in the various production phases and, depending on the type of paper,Ā a host of polluting chemical additives. Thatās why, whenever possible, itās important to chooseĀ sustainableĀ orĀ recycled paperĀ to reduce the environmental impact of paper production.
Sustainable paperĀ is made out of wood cellulose originating fromĀ Ā Forest Stewardship Council-certified forests, where strict environmental, social and economic standards apply.Ā Recycled paper, on the other hand, is made out of recovered paper. However, the chlorine used to bleach it, as well as other chemical additives used, mean that recycled paper is often not as environmentally friendly as commonly thought. To be sure that you are choosing a genuinely eco-friendly product, opt for paper with theĀ Ecolabel certification, the European ecological quality label awarded to environmentally sustainable products.
Alternatives to paper
An excellentĀ alternative to traditional paperĀ isĀ Crush paper,Ā produced by venerable Italian papermakers Favini, made out ofĀ fruit and vegetable by-products. Production of this paper releases 20% fewer CO2 emissions and uses up to 15% less cellulose than traditional paper, and is suitable for many applications, from food and wine labels to premium-quality invitation cards, catalogues and brochures.
The latest innovation from Favini isĀ Remake, paper made from 25%Ā leather off-cuts, 40% recycled cellulose and 35% FSC-certified virgin cellulose fibres. Itās a fine-quality recyclable and compostable material, perfect for printing sophisticated publications and luxury packaging. Another great substitute isĀ hemp, a highly durable material that has been used to make paper since ancient times, first by the Chinese and later by the Arabs. Cultivation of this plant does not require pesticides and provides a quantity of fibre per hectare that is 3-4 times greater than traditional forests. Its main drawback is the cost of processing hemp pulp, which is much higher than conventional cellulose extraction.
Our article on theĀ history of paperĀ finishes here, but weāre sure that, thanks to continued technical innovation, many more surprises lie ahead! The history of paper is far from over, and this fascinating and useful material will remain with us for years to come.
