{"id":5144,"date":"2023-08-28T04:09:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T04:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/?p=5144"},"modified":"2026-01-08T16:21:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:21:02","slug":"story-of-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/story-of-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of\u00a0Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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We use paper every day\u200a\u2014\u200afrom the newspapers and magazines we read to the packaging our products come in and more. But have you ever wondered who first invented paper and why it became the most popular material on the planet? Welcome to the story of paper\u2026<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo by Old Youth<\/a> on Unsplash<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The History of Paper<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Have you ever wondered where the word ‘paper’ <\/em>comes from? The history of the word can shed light on the beginnings of the paper industry. ‘Paper’ is derived from ‘papyrus’ which is what the Ancient Egyptians used to use to write on. Papyrus wasn’t paper as we would think of it today but it was a very close cousin. Papyrus was made of reeds\u200a\u2014\u200awhich grew readily along the river Nile.<\/p>

The earliest form of writing is said to have come from Sumeria, dating back about five thousand years ago and is called ‘cuneiform.’ <\/em>The Sumerians scratched their letters into clay tablets with a sharpened stick. You can imagine that it was a very long and difficult process. Unfortunately, the tablets were heavy and were easily broken.<\/p>

In Britain, the Druids had a form of writing called ‘ogham’ <\/em>which they used to carve symbols and figures into stone or wood. From the earliest times people have devised easier and more effective ways of writing things down and sharing information. It is often difficult for most of us to imagine what life was like before we had mobile ‘phones and computers. Imagine what it was like before paper!<\/p>

So who invented paper and when?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Invention of Paper<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Archaeologists have discovered the earliest paper known to have been used was made of cloth rags left over from the textile industry in early China and date back to the first or second century AD.<\/p>

The conventional acknowledgment of invention goes to Cai Lun, a government official serving in the Imperial court of the Han dynasty (202 BCE \u2013 220 CE). It is believed that around 105 CE, Cai Lun innovated the concept of paper using a mixture of mulberry and other bast fibers, combined with fishnets, discarded cloth, and remnants of hemp. It was light and could be written on in flowing ink. It could also be folded and rolled up. Suddenly it was possible not only to write quickly but to transport writing easily over long distances\u200a\u2014\u200asomething that was never truly possible with large stones and clay tablets! The impact of paper was wide-reaching.<\/p>

This is the part where we talk about the ‘paper revolution.’<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Image in the Public Domain via Wikipedia<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\nThe five seminal steps in ancient Chinese papermaking.\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Spread of Paper<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By the fifth century AD, paper was being widely used in Japan\u200a\u2014\u200anot only as a material for writing on, but also to make the inner walls of houses and works of art such as paintings and paper flowers.<\/p>

The art of origami<\/em> which is the art of folding paper to make the shapes of animals, flowers and people, was invented at about this time. The use of paper spread rapidly throughout the rest of the world. In Asia and the Middle East, the quality of paper-making was improved by coating the rags in starch. This gave the finished paper a much smoother surface which was easier to write on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Image in the Public Domain via Wikipedia<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The first known technical book on origami, Hiden senbazuru orikata, published in Japan in 1797.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Development of Paper<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The techniques for the manufacture and production of paper where developed significantly in Europe from the thirteenth century onwards. One very important development was the use of water wheels to power the paper-making process. These small but efficient water-driven paper factories were called ‘paper mills’ as they used the technology previously developed for grinding corn.<\/p>

In Spain and Italy, the paper mills were able to produce a lot of high quality paper very quickly. This made paper more readily available and cheaper to buy. Very soon after this, parchment and papyrus\u200a\u2014\u200awhich had still been in use\u200a\u2014\u200abecame a thing of the past.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Printing and Paper Money<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The first mechanical printing press was invented in 1450 AD by Johannes Gutenberg. He was a German goldsmith. There had been other attempts to make printed works, but it was Gutenberg’s invention that made the widespread and cost-effective distribution of books, pamphlets and other printed items, finally possible.<\/p>

The spread of the printed word led to the Renaissance <\/em>in Europe\u200a\u2014\u200aa period of history in which there was a huge movement toward learning, sciences and the arts. In 1694, the first paper bank notes were printed\u200a\u2014\u200aeven money, once made of silver, gold or copper, was now made of paper!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Image in the Public Domain via Wikipedia<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Song dynasty Jiaozi, the world’s earliest paper money.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Modern Paper Making<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Paper was made out of textile fabric right up until the nineteenth century when there was a shortage of cotton. Everyone had become dependent on paper for everything from the bank to the bathroom and so the search was on for a new material to make paper from.<\/p>

One of the first experiments was with straw but it made a very poor quality product. Eventually, it was discovered that wood pulp could be used to make excellent paper. Modern paper is made in highly mechanized factories from wood pulp. Modern paper-making takes up a lot of energy and water equal to about 20% of production costs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Paper and the Environment<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Given that paper uses up so much energy, water and of course, trees, new methods have been developed to help safeguard the environment.<\/p>

Worldwide, the amount of paper that is made from recycled materials is about 30% of total production. The world leader in paper recycling is the United Kingdom where 70% of all paper produced is made from recycled paper. Before the fibers become too delicate, paper can be recycled seven times.<\/p>

Modern paper-making also uses cereal straw in the mix to reduce the overall amount of cellulose from wood that is needed. Many forests are now managed on a ‘sustainable’ basis. This means that for every tree that is cut down, two or more are planted to replace them. The sorts of trees that make the best paper, such as spruce and larch, are also very fast growing.<\/p>

In more and more forests the trees are never cut down at all. A method of harvesting called ‘coppicing’ is used. using this method, only parts of the tree are removed, allowing the plant to regrow.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Summary of The Story of Paper<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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