Paper is a thin material produced by pressing together moist fibres of cellulose pulp derived

from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets. It is a versatile material with many
uses, including writing, printing, packaging, cleaning, decorating, and a number of industrial and
constructione processes. Papers are essential in legal or non-legal documentation.

Paper is a material that has been around for 2000 years. It eas developed in China in the first
first or second century AD, and it's made by pressing together the moist fibers of cellulose derived from
plants and then dried to result in flexible sheets.and the ability to mass product it, has resulted in the
development of writing as a means to pass down information through the ages. This in turn has
accelerated information duplication and exchange, and led to the cultural and technological
advancements that we have seen in the last two millennial (for better or worse).

The art, science, and technology of papermaking addresses the methods, equipment, and
materials used to make paper and cardboard, these being used widely for printing, writing, and
packaging, among many other purposes and useful products. Today almost all paper is manufactured
using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a specialized craft and a medium for
artistic expression.

In papermaking, a dilute suspension consisting mostly of separate cellulose fibres in water is

drained through a sieve-like screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibres is laid down. Water is
further removed from this sheet by pressing, sometimes aided by suction or vacuum, or heating. Once
dry, a generally flat, uniform and strong sheet of paper is achieved.

Before the invention and current widespread adoption of automated machinery, all paper was
made by hand, formed or laid one sheet at a time by specialized laborers. Even today those who make
paper by hand use tools and technologies quite similar to those existing hundreds of years ago, as
originally developed in China and Asia, or those further modified in Europe. Handmade paper is still
appreciated for its distinctive uniqueness and the skilled craft involved in making each sheet, in contrast
with the higher degree of uniformity and perfection at lower prices achieved among industrial products.

While monitoring, regulations and action by concerned citizens, as well as improvements

within the industry itself are limiting the worst abuses, papermaking continues to be of concern from an
environmental perspective, due to its use of harsh chemicals, its need for large amounts of water, and
the resulting contamination risks, as well as trees being used as the primary source of wood pulp. Paper
made from other fibers, cotton being the most common, tends to be valued higher than wood-based
paper.

The method of manual papermaking changed very little over time, despite advances in
technologies. The process of manufacturing handmade paper can be generalized into five steps:
Separating the useful fibre from the rest of raw materials. (e.g. cellulose from wood, cotton, etc.),
beating down the fibre into pulp, adjusting the colour, mechanical, chemical, biological, and other
properties of the paper by adding special chemical premixes, screening the resulting solution, pressing
and drying to get the actual paper. Screening the fibre involves using a mesh made from non-corroding
and inert material, such as brass, stainless steel or a synthetic fibre, which is stretched in a wooden
frame similar to that of a window, this tool being knows as a paper mould. The size of the paper is
governed by the open area of the frame. The mould is then completely submerged in the furnish, then
pulled, shaken and drained, forming a uniform coating on the screen. Excess water is then removed, the
wet mat of fibre laid on top of a damp cloth or felt in a process called "couching". The process is
repeated for the required number of sheets. This stack of wet mats is then pressed in a hydraulic press.
The fairly damp fibre is then dried using a variety of methods, such as vacuum drying or simply air
drying. Sometimes, the individual sheet is rolled to flatten, harden, and refine the surface. Finally, the
paper is then cut to the desired shape or the standard shape (A4, letter, legal, etc.) and packed.

Paper has been used to an increasing degree as the basic ingredient for other forms of creative
expression, in which the material aspect plays an important role. Recently, many artists have discovered
the creative potential of paper as well as raw materials used for paper production, among those also
recovered paper. Although this kind of activity will never provide a significant commercial outlet for
recovered paper, it nevertheless has an important role to play in improving the consumer’s perception
of recovered paper as a valuable raw material and not as a waste product of society. Instead of throwing
junk mail, catalogues and magazines, these can be used to make beads, paper designs and decoupage. It
has been suggested to collect all kinds of papers, magazines and maps, and to recycle them to create
incredible wrapping for ordinary objects that would otherwise go unnoticed.(Bajpai,2014)

Paper is extremely important to us now. It's still a major way that our culture stores information.
And while the benefits of digital storage are many, paper still offers some advantage like ease of
storage, no need for file conversions, and the fact it can be produced sustainably. It also holds a special
place in history, and many of our latest discoveries about the past are made by investigating the written
remains of culture that has preserved until now.