PAPERMAKING
Papermaking, regardless of the scale on which it is done, involves making a dilute suspension of fibres in water, called “furnish”, and forcing this suspension to drain through a screen, to produce a layer of interwoven fibres.
The method of manual papermaking changed very little over time, despite advances in technologies. The process of manufacturing handmade paper can be generalized into five steps:
- Separating the useful fibre from the rest of raw materials. (e.g. cellulose from wood, cotton, etc.)
- Beating down the fibre into pulp
- Adjusting the colour and other properties of the paper
- Screening the resulting solution
- Pressing and drying to get the actual paper
Screening the fibre involves using a mesh made from non-corroding and inert material, such as brass, stainless steel or a synthetic fibre, which is stretched in a paper mould, a wooden frame similar to that of a window. The size of the paper is governed by the open area of the frame. The mould is then completely submerged in the furnish, then pulled, shaken and drained, forming a uniform coating on the screen. Excess water is then removed, the wet mat of fibre laid on top of a damp cloth or felt in a process called “couching”. The process is repeated for the required number of sheets.
The fairly damp fibre is then dried using a variety of methods, such as vacuum drying or simply air drying.
The wooden frame in papermaking is called a “deckle”. The deckle leaves the edges of the paper slightly irregular and wavy, called “deckle edges”, one of the indications that the paper was made by hand.
The impressions in paper caused by the wires in the screen that run sideways are called “laid lines” and the impressions made, usually from top to bottom, by the wires holding the sideways wires together are called “chain lines”.
In handmade papers a watermark is created by weaving a design into the wires in the mould.
