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How we make and manufacture paper have already evolved through time? Nowadays, we already have large paper making machinery to keep up with the increasing demand in paper all over the world. The basic principle of paper making is draining a dilute suspension of fibers. We should get rid of the water completely by drying and pressing it to come up with a decent paper. Most paper nowadays is made out of wood pulp. But, little do we know that we can also make paper out of fiber sources like cotton and textiles. The process of paper making started in China when Cai Lun created a sheet of paper out of mulberry and other fibers like fishnets, old rags and hemp waster. Paper was initially used for wrapping and padding purposes. It was in the 3rd century when paper is used for communication. Soon, the Chinese discovered other use of paper like for toilet, tea and money. Also, in time the people were able to develop refined machinery designed for the bulk manufacturing of paper. They now transformed the art of paper making into an industry. There are two kinds of paper making, the manual and industrial paper making. The manual paper making involves diluting suspension of fibers in water and allowing this suspension to drain through a screen so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibers is laid down. Water is removed from this mat of fibers by pressing and drying to make paper. These handmade papers are mostly used in laboratories to study carefully the quality of the paper produced in the large-scale production process. The paper brightness, strength, degree of sizing are tested in this process. This kind of paper is also used for specialty purposes and is normally sold at a more expensive price. The industrial paper making, on the other hand involves a modern paper mill that is divided into several sections, Each section corresponds to a process that is involved in making hand-made paper. First, pulp is refined and mixed in water with other additives to make a pulp slurry and then the head box of the paper machine distributes the slurry onto a moving continuous screen, water drains from the slurry. And finally, the wet paper sheet goes through presses and dries and is finally rolled into large rolls. These large rolls would often weigh several tons. Some paper manufacturing company uses a cylinder mold that rotates while it is partially immersed in a dilute pulp. A certain wire picks up the pulp and covers the mold as it rises out of the vat. A couch roller is then pressed against the mold to smooth out the pulp, and picks the wet sheet off of the mold.
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