Paper products are used every day by everyone worldwide.Paper was thought to be invented around 105 CE in China. People even started using paper products from around the 6th century.In the 6th century, people started using toilet paper and started using tea bags made of paper during the Tang Dynasty. More than a thousand years have gone by and now the process of papermaking has become machine-dependent. Machines, like hydraulic press, rollers, and more are used every day to break down the raw materials for the paper, to make sheets of paper smooth, white, and for packaging of papers. As mostly, trees are used to make paper, many companies are now opting for recycled raw materials to make it more eco-friendly. A company that makes paper is called a paper mill. You can contact your nearest paper mill to get permission for an official visit there to see how a sheet of paper is made practically. However, keep reading to learn all about it before you visit!Check out how is metal made and how is plywood made for more such articles.Paper Production Step By StepThe process to make paper is not that complex. The process of making sheets of paper has not changed much since ancient times other than the technological advancements involved. It can easily be described in five steps in general.Separation of the needed fiber from the raw material: The main component for making paper is tree logs. Some other raw materials are cotton, recycled paper, sawdust, waste, and more. They start with separating the cellulose fibers from the raw material either mechanically or by using chemicals.Turning the cellulose fibers into pulp: The wood pulp is made by mixing the raw material with processed water. In mechanical pulping, the brute force turns them into pulp, and making chemical pulping is a little complex. First big logs are made into wood chips. Then heat, chemicals, and pressure are used to turn the wood chips into paper pulp.Adjusting the properties of the paper: Many chemicals are then added further to adjust the thickness, color, mechanical, biological, or chemical properties for the desired quality of the paper.Screening the watery solution: The method has changed a little since the old days. However, the main intention stays the same. It’s done to separate the water from the wet pulp.Pressing and drying the resulting solution: The resulting pulp mat then goes through a hydraulic press section and rollers. From the rollers, the resulting sheet is then dried to get the actual sheets of paper.The Manufacturing Process Of Toilet PaperPeople have been using toilet paper since the 6th century in China. It has become a daily part of the lives of many people. That’s why they are also made in huge amounts around the world.To this day, toilet papers are still made from wood, for the most part, so first, big logs of wood are collected. Then, some mills turn them into wood chips. Then the unnecessary things are removed from the required fiber to make the pulp. Then water is mixed in the resulting solution. The solution then goes through the screening process. Then the mesh is put through a Yankee dryer to get heated, pressed, and dried and the pulp mat then turns into a sheet of paper. The paper is then creped, where they scrape off the paper from the Yankee dryer with a metal blade. This gives the paper a wrinkled look along with lowering the thickness and strength of the paper so that the thin toilet paper can almost fall apart when you wet the paper. Then the resulting paper is put into a machine where they are rolled into tissue paper logs and then cut into tissue paper rolls. Next, the packaging is done to sell the toilet paper rolls.Many companies have started using recycled paper and other raw materials rather than a tree to make the process of papermaking more eco-friendly.How Paper Is Made From TreesThe raw materials for the making of various kinds of paper involve logs, the bark of trees, like aspen, hemlock, fir, spruce, birch, larch, and more. The process for paper-making from these trees is the same as mentioned in the steps above.In the beginning, people invented making paper with a tree. Now ages have gone by and the environment is getting affected owing to the cutting of trees for many industries, including the paper industry. As a solution, many paper mills are choosing recycled materials, cotton, and more as raw materials. Some paper mills are also maintaining their own plantations of required plants or big forests. Here, they keep planting new plants as they cut down some for their work.This bleaching of the paper-making process involves using chlorine that can create dioxins, which causes as much harm to the environment as cutting trees.The Process Of Making Rice PaperWhen we say ‘rice paper’, people might get confused, as there are many versions of it available around the world. There’s even an edible version of it which is quite popular in Vietnam.The edible rice paper is made out of rice flour, potato starch, water, and salt. Then it’s spread evenly on a plastic wrap on a plate and cooked in a microwave oven. This thin edible paper is used in different kinds of finger foods.There’s a paper made specifically from the mulberry tree in Asia that people use to wrap up rice bundles and transport them. This is just an industrial mulberry paper, but they are called rice paper for the purpose they serve. The process of this kind of papermaking is the same as any other paper. Once, people used to make these papers mostly by hand. However, machines have taken over production now.Long ago, a paper made from the plant Tetrapanax papyrifer was exported to Europe from Asia. Owing to its pure white color and Asian origins, people came to think rice plants were used to make this paper, which is a myth. However, the Tetrapanax papyrifer plant is called the rice-paper plant.There are many other papers from various Asian countries that are called rice paper. Usually, these papers are made from different raw materials. One of the most famous ones is the Xuan paper made in China. It’s made from rice straws and blue sandalwood trees.The Process Of Making Other Kinds Of PaperMany more types of papers are made and used around the world every day, like wrapping paper, copy paper, stone paper, and more.Stone papers are made from calcium carbonate rocks. These rocks go through heavy grinding as they are stripped off of their outer layers and the inner core is turned into a finer powder than flour. Then the flour is turned into a pellet. Then the pellet is melted to a malleable consistency so that they can go through the extrusion process and the stone paper is ready. Copy papers are made the same way as any other paper is made. Only the consistency, strength, and color of the paper are changed as per the requirements. Like, at times, chalk is added to the pulp to make it smooth and whiter, and usually copy papers are thinner than printing papers. Wrapping papers made on bleached or unbleached wood pulp papers and from synthetic and natural dye inks. First, the manufacturers decide on a design that will go on the wrapping paper. High-quality paper and ink are chosen from vendors. The paper mill engraves the printing cylinders with designated designs by a machine. The papers go into the cylinders that can give the papers pearlescent, foil, flocked, or iridescent finishes. The core method is streaked a bit here and there to come up with different types of papers, but the main process to make paper stays the same as ever.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how is paper made, then why not take a look at why do we vote, or do dogs know when you are sad?
Paper products are used every day by everyone worldwide.
