Papers

Paper was invented by Tasi Lua, a Chinese, in AD 105. In the beginning, paper was used only for handwriting. Later on after the invention of printing, paper was also used in printing. The word paper comes from the Greek term for the ancient Egyptian writing material called papyrus, which was formed from beaten strips of papyrus plants. Papyrus was produced as early as 3000 BC in Egypt, and sold to ancient Greece and Rome. Today, paper includes a wide range of products with varied applications in different fields such as communication, cultural, educational, artistic, hygienic, sanitary, as well as for storage and transportation of all kinds of goods. It is almost impossible to imagine a life without paper.

Paper is a commodity of thin material produced by the amalgamation of fibres, typically vegetable fibres composed of cellulose, which are subsequently held together by hydrogen bonding. While the fibres used are usually natural polypropylene and polyethylene, may be incorporated into paper as a way of imparting desirable physical properties. The most common source of these kinds of fibres is wood pulp from pulpwood trees, largely softwoods and hardwoods, such as spruce and aspen respectively. Other vegetable fibre materials including those of cotton, hemp, linen and rice may also be used.

It is hardly difficult to imagine a printing industry without paper. Although there is considerable amount of printing being carried out on plastic and metal substrates, paper is likely to be the printers’ most important basic material for many years to come. It is clearly essential for anyone involved in printing to have a basic knowledge of the chemistry of paper and technology involved in the manufacture of paper.