What Material Was Paper First Made From?

The first material that paper was made from was papyrus and that is the origin of the word “paper.” Papyrus is a reedy plant that grows along the Nile River in Egypt. Starting in 2400 BC, paper was made from slicing thin sections of papyrus, pressing them together, and letting them dry.   

The Egyptians first made paper from was papyrus, but the Chinese also made paper. 

• We don’t know exactly when paper was first made in Ancient China, but we do know about a process that was used in 105 AD. 
• The inventor of this process was Ts'ai-Lun, who presented this process and some paper from it to the Chinese emperor. 
• Paper was made at least 200 years before this, but knowledge of this process by Ts'ai-Lun revolutionized China.

How to Make Paper

When learning what material paper was first made of, you may also want to learn how paper is made.

• To make paper, you first soak plant fibers, like papyrus, bamboo, hemp or tree bark and then beat them into pulp with a wooden mallet. 
• A bamboo frame with a coarsely woven fabric stretched across it is used to dip up the fiber slurry to collect it for drying. 
• The water from the sludge drains through the fabric and what is left is paper.

Improvements to the Paper Making Process  

Paper has come a long way since paper was first made.

• One of the first improvements that was made to the paper making process was different kinds of fabric stretched inside the bamboo frame to make a mold for the paper. 
• Thin strips of bamboo were laced together with silk thread, animal hair, or flax. This allowed for the paper to be taken off the mold quickly so the mold could be used again right away. 
• The Chinese also began to use starch to help size the paper and a yellow dye that not only colored the paper but acted as an insect repellent for the paper.

History of Paper Making 

As this paper making process spread, other countries made advances to it. 

• The first material that paper was made from using this improved process was hemp. The Koreans used hemp and other things like: rattan, bamboo, mulberry, rice straw, and seaweed. 

• The process of making paper made it to Europe by the 12th century and papermaking was established in Spain and Italy. The material chosen by European paper makers was cotton or linen fiber from rags.  First the rags were cleaned and heated in an alkaline solution, then drained and seasoned. Then they were washed and beaten into a pulp, which was bleached to remove all the dyes. The molds used pieces of wire laced together or a wire mesh instead of cloth.  

• After the sheet of paper was formed, it was removed and placed on cloth, or felts, for pressing. Layers of felts and paper were then placed in a large wooden screw press.
• After they were pressed, they were hung to dry.
• Dried sheets of paper were coated with animal gelatin or glue to make them less absorbent.
• The dry sheets were smoothed with a glossy stone which was eventually replaced with a water-powered hammer smoother, developed in the early 17th century.

Paper Making in the United States

The next major change to the process of making paper happened in the United States. 

• By the 1790s, paper makers were experimenting with different kinds of material from which to make paper. 
• They looked at tree bark, the waste from sugarcane, cornstalks, wood pulp, and straw. 
• Wood pulp became a good option after mechanical wood grinders were available. 
• The first newspaper printed on wood pulp paper was the January 14, 1863 edition of the Boston Weekly Journal.             

Today we have many uses for paper, including:

• Corrugated cardboard
• Paper bags
• Paper plates
• Paper cups
• Newspapers and other print media
• Kites
• Toys
• Money

To conserve our resources, many people recycle paper. A piece of paper can be recycled between five and eight times before it is un-usable and just recycling that much can save a lot of resources.