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Paper is a thin sheet material made by physically or chemically processing cellulose fibers from wood, rags, grasses, or other vegetable sources in water, then draining the water through the tiny mesh to leave the fiber equally dispersed on the surface, pressing and drying. Although the paper was once created by hand in single sheets, it is now almost entirely produced by enormous machines, some of which have reels 10 meters wide, operate at 2,000 meters per minute, and produce up to 600,000 tonnes per year.

Printing, packing, decorating, writing, cleaning, filter paper, wallpaper, book endpaper, conservation paper, laminated worktops, toilet tissue, money, security paper, and various industrial and construction operations all utilize it.

Although the first archaeological bits of paper date from the 2nd century BCE in China, the papermaking technique was invented in East Asia, most likely China, at least as early as 105 CE by the Han court eunuch Cai Lun. The contemporary pulp and paper business is a worldwide sector, with China leading the way in terms of output and the United States following closely after.

The first known archaeological remnants of the immediate predecessor to modern paper were discovered in China in the 2nd century BCE. Cai Lun, a Han court eunuch in the 2nd century CE, is credited with inventing the pulp papermaking technique.

After the Battle of Talas in 751 CE, when two Chinese papermakers were captured as prisoners, knowledge of papermaking was believed to be transferred to the Islamic world. Although the authenticity of this narrative is debatable, paper production in Samarkand began shortly after. The knowledge and applications of paper moved from the Middle East to medieval Europe in the 13th century, when the first water-powered paper mills were established.

Bagdatikos was the name given to paper when it was first brought to the West through Baghdad. The cost of producing paper was substantially lowered throughout the nineteenth century as a result of industrialization. Charles Fenerty, a Canadian innovator, and Friedrich Gottlob Keller, a German, separately invented pulping wood fibers in 1844.

Before the industrialization of paper manufacturing, the most prevalent fiber source was recycled fibers from old textiles, known as rags. Hemp, linen, and cotton were used to make the rags. In 1774, German lawyer Justus Claproth devised a method for removing printing inks from recycled paper. This process is now known as deinking. Paper manufacture did not become independent of ragpickers’ recycled resources until the advent of wood pulp in 1843.

The term paper is taken from the Latin papyrus, which is derived from the Greek o (pápros), the name for the Cyperus papyrus plant. Papyrus is a thick, paper-like substance made from the pith of the Cyperus papyrus plant used for writing before the advent of paper in ancient Egypt and other Mediterranean cultures.

Even though the term paper is etymologically related to papyrus, the two are created extremely differently, and the evolution of the first differs from that of the second. Papyrus is a natural plant fiber lamination, whereas paper is made from fibers with its characteristics altered by maceration.

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