AD 105 Chinese Han Dynasty: the birthplace of paper as we know it today. AD 610 PAPERMAKING HISTORY Papermaking spread across Asia, Middle East, and Europe. Of all the writing materials mankind has employed down through the ages, paper has become the most widely used around the world. Paper has a long history stretching back to ancient Fibres were created Egypt in the third millennium BC. The word ‘paper’ is derived from papyrus, a plant that was by beating. once abundant in Egypt. Paper as we know it traces its roots back to China at the beginning of the first millennium AD. Originally intended purely for writing and printing purposes, a dazzling array of paper products are available to today’s consumer. Use of water to th power machinery. 14 century A stamping mill was developed Export of the papermaking to produce pulp more efficiently. technique to Europe and a series of improvements to the process. 16th century Primarily rags were used as raw material and later The advantages of mill-based de-fibred bamboo. papermaking spread throughout Europe. A number of types were developed, such as sized, coated and dyed paper. 19th century The Arabs coated paper with More machines were starch paste that gave paper invented and improved good writing properties and leading to increased a fine appearance. production speed, for instance the cylinder machines. More paper Wood became the main raw th is created material for paper making, 17 and thanks to better thanks to the invention of th machinery. the wood-grinding machine. 18 century Sheets are dried Invention of machines to on ropes. facilitate papermaking such as the Hollander Beater. This machine was developed by the Dutch Large scale to produce paper pulp production. from cellulose. 20th century Full scale industrialisation 21st century Paper for recycling has become the main raw material for paper making. Insulation material made out of recycled fibre cellulose. Paper is innovative and it is It is a very effective material for constantly evolving. New ways passive housing and buildings of using papers are being and an excellent temperature devised daily, including usage stabiliser and sound insulator. in the technological, chemical; and medical industries. The greatly increased demand for paper led to a shortage of rags. Cellulose containing plant fibres was introduced as raw material. Paper production process became fully automated from Development of paper grades preparatory and pulping to such as lightweight coated papermaking and finishing. paper that are normally used in magazines, flyers or coupons. The biorefinery process produces a wide variety of sustainable materials. For instance food additives like vanillin or a specialty cellulose like viscose, which can be used for textiles, cosmetics and industrial applications. CEPI aisbl • Confederation of European Paper Industries 250 Avenue Louise, box 80 • B-1050 Brussels • Belgium.