And when did we first begin to make paper? Well, as far as we know, the use of paper dates back to the Ancient Egyptians. Their paper of course was called papyrus. Since those days the production of paper has come a long way. The process of how paper is made from pulp is described below.
Although most paper is made from the pulp some is made from recycled paper, special cloth and sometimes from grass. However; most paper is made from wood. There are farms that are specifically set up to plant trees for the sole purpose of producing paper products and they grow two different types for these products, softwood and hardwood. The reason they grow these two types is because a lone neither one of these woods will make a very good paper so they need to combine the two for good quality. The most common trees grown for paper are spruce and pine. These trees are well maintained and once they reach the right age they are cut down and brought in to begin the process of paper production.
The first thing that is done to the tree is remove the bark and then wash it. Once it has been washed, it is then chopped into small blocks. The next thing that is done is to test the wood for any type of particles that might be metallic. They do this by using a strong magnet to run over the blocks of wood and then they make sure all metal is removed from it.
After the wood has been deemed free of all non wood materials they will begin the next step. This step is to remove the pulp from the wood. There are several different ways to do this. One way is to take a grinder, another way will extract it with the help of a digester. Sometimes they might also use chemicals to extract it from the wood blocks. Steam and water can also be used to help remove it from the wood. The pulp will contain wood fibers a long with cellulose which is important to the production of paper.
After the cellulose and all of the fibers are ready the next step will begin. This next step is very important to the process and that is the bleaching of it all to purify it before the paper is actually produced.
After it has been purified the actual making of the paper can begin. This is done with what is called a paper machine that has four different sections. The first is where they will drain all of the water and minerals out. This will begin to form a paper web. After that is done, the paper web will go through another step where it will be pressed so any water left can be squeezed out of the paper web. Then it will go through the dryer where the web is dried even more and becomes completely without water. After this is done the web will then be coated with some starch and a variety of minerals. This helps to make the paper strong as well as smooth. The paper then needs to dry for quite awhile before it can be rolled up in a paper roll. All paper at the beginning goes through the same process.
A blade coater is then used to make it shiny and smooth and to increase the quality. Should the paper require more gloss and need to be even smoother the paper will go through what is called a super calendering machine where it will be heated and then cut into small rolls. After this is done these rolls can be cut into sheets with accordance to what different customers want. Dyes are later used to color the paper for those requirements. Once the paper is rolled it is there that the many different varieties can be made and shipped out to a variety of different customers.