History of Paper

Paper was invented almost 2000 years ago in 105 A.D. by a Chinese court official named Ts'ai Lun, who managed to keep the process a secret for many years.

DID YOU KNOW... the first paper was made from a mixture of mulberry bark, hemp and rags mixed with water. That concoction was then pounded to a pulp and spread out in a thin sheet left to dry in the sun.

While early pulp used to make paper can consist of a variety of ingredients from rags to hemp, the most common type of pulp is wood pulp, derived from mechanically or chemically removing the fibrous materials from wood chips. Today, recycled paper is the second largest pulp ingredient. paper is even made from things like recycled wood pallets.

DID YOU KNOW... The first American paper mill was founded in 1690 by William Rittenhouse and William Bradford near Philadelphia. The paper was made from recycled rags.

For more information on paper making visit the following web sites:

Tappi's Paper University at http://www.tappi.org

The Paper Industry International Hall of Fame http://www.paperhall.org

American Forest and Paper Association http://www.afandpa.org