Graphic Design & Printing TechnologyEmergence of wood based paper and increased mechanisation- 19th
Century
The systematic search for substitute raw materials with which to produce paper
in Europe proved difficult. In the early 18th century straw was used as a raw
material but it failed to make headway due to quality concerns.
Full-scale industrialisation - innovation and specification lead to new paper
grades and paper uses.
19 th & 20th Century
The paper production process became fully automated: from the preparatory
and pulp production stages to the papermaking, use of fillers and finishing
(including the headbox, wire section, pressing, drying, reeling, smoothing and
packaging).
The paper industry developed appropriate industrial plants (groundwood and
chemical pulp mills) in order to produce wood based paper on an industrial
scale and to meet the demand for this increasingly valued substitute for rags
which was set to become the dominant raw material for papermaking.
In the past 50 years the rate of innovation in papermaking has increased rapidly.
New materials have been developed (using thermo-mechanical pulps, recovered
paper and new fillers). New sheet forming options and neutral sizing have
been accompanied by a greater awareness and focus on environmental impacts.
Innovation has also led to greater specialisation by paper makers, for example
in the development of new paper grades such as LWC - Light Weight Coated
paper (mainly used in magazines, flyers and inserts such as coupons); and
some paper groups have acquired their own raw material supply and trading
organisations.
Paper making process
Raw materials for paper making
The main raw materials for papermaking in the past were cotton and linen
fibers obtained from rags. Cellulose is the raw material used to make most
paper today. It is obtained mainly from bamboo, eucalyptus, jute, buggase,
pine, oak, accasia and other light woods. The length of the tree fiber determines
various characteristics including strength of the paper. Now-a-days, waste
paper is the major raw material used for papermaking, especially for recycled
paper.
Papermaking is a complex manufacturing process. It uses both chemical and
mechanical means to reduce wood fibers to pulp, which is the material used to
produce paper in sheet form.
Chipping:- Logs are cut to uniform length, debarked and sent to a chipper or
grinder. The chipper cuts the logs into chips. The chips are sized so the digester