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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)