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How to Do It: Making Paper by Hand

05 July 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

The earliest process of making paper was done almost five thousand years ago in Egypt and the Nile Valley. In those days, paper was made from strips of the papyrus plant.

Modern paper-making began in China about two thousand years ago. This process produced paper from cloth, straw, wood or the bark of trees. The raw materials are struck over and over until they become loose. Then they are mixed with water.

After the water has been removed, the flat, thin form remaining is permitted to dry. This becomes a sheet of paper.

Paper makes its way through the supercalendar at the NewPage paper mill in Escanaba, Michigan.
Paper makes its way through the supercalendar at the NewPage paper mill in Escanaba, Michigan.
Large machines started to be used for making paper near the end of the sixteenth century. Today, paper-making is a big business. But it is still possible to make paper by hand, since the steps are the same as using big machines.

You should choose paper with small amounts of printing. Old envelopes are good for this reason. Colored paper also can be used, as well as small amounts of newspaper. Small pieces of rags or cloth can be added. These should be cut into pieces about five centimeters by five centimeters.

Everything is placed in a container, covered with water and brought to a boil. It is mixed for about two hours with some common chemicals and then allowed to cool. Then it is left until most of the water dries up. The substance left, called pulp, can be stored until you are ready to make paper.

Liquified cat-tail plants are filtered through a screen to make a sheet of paper.
Liquified cat-tail plants are filtered through a screen to make a sheet of paper.
When you are ready, the pulp is mixed with water again. Then the pulp is poured into a mold. The mold is made of small squares of wire that hold the shape and thickness of the paper. To help dry the paper, the mold lets the water flow through the small wire squares.

After several more drying steps, the paper is carefully lifted back from the mold. It is now strong enough to be touched.

The paper is smoothed and pressed to remove trapped air. You can use a common electric iron used for pressing clothes.

There are many other technologies for people making paper using small machines.

Internet users can do a search and find directions for making homemade paper.  You can also order information about making paper from the group EnterpriseWorks/VITA. Its Web site is enterpriseworks.org.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us at twitter.com/voalearnenglish. I'm Steve Ember.



Comments:

1. good

thank
Submitted by: mandy (Taiwan)
08-05-2009 - 03:09:58

2. Helpful

It is interesting to know that paper was produced 5 thounsand years ago.
Submitted by: ThaoTrongNguyen (Vietnam)
07-18-2009 - 09:43:03

3. thanks for VOA's

thank you for VOA' s about this articles . Its help me to developed my English skill as well as gives me knowledge.
Submitted by: neha (canada)
07-17-2009 - 14:30:11

4. DEVERLOPMENT REPORT

THEY HELP ME VERY MUCH IN LEARNING ENGLISH AND MY MAJOR. THEY ALSO PROVIDE ME MORE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGES. THANK SO MUCH!!!
Submitted by: DINH THANH HOA (Viet nam)
07-16-2009 - 04:13:49

5. Development report

This is the best report for VOA special english very good and many thanks to help me in english langauage
Submitted by: ahmed (Egypt)
07-12-2009 - 14:36:36

6. Request

I am student who listing and learning English language and also I am requesting to help me english learning. I am wanting to learning quickly. always, my speaking english is very poor and how can improved my effort in order to attian or to change my attitude immediately
Submitted by: Said (Somalia)
07-11-2009 - 08:29:13

7. How to do it

A great thank for VOA Special English for a good Knowledge and making a good bridge between nations especially Kurdish American people
Submitted by: Atta (Kurdistan Region / Iraq)
07-10-2009 - 08:05:30

8. Amazing

China is a great country, i do admire these people, they are genius people.Thanx Henry , always u add something which is so cool.thanx all.
Submitted by: EStapraq Kahlil (Iraq)
07-09-2009 - 07:52:21

9. Development Report: Making Paper by Hand, July 5

Thank you for taking the subject again (I faintly recall reading the transcript of an earlier program on paper). Your programs no doubt enrich our general knowledge and in particular our English language skill. However, you need to elaborate few points like the common household chemicals used in paper-making at home. What are those chemicals? The program directions should be complete so if somebody wants to experiment, he can do it. You have also not covered the environmental impact of the paper industry that led to environment-friendly Paper Industry processes. I think the concept of making paper at home has a new meaning today, which is saving our environment and cutting waste by making/using recycled paper. Its high cost though discourages its use. Perhaps you need to write a couple of more programs to cover these aspects to deal with the topic more comprehensively. With kind regards, RB
Submitted by: Riaz Ahmad Barni (Pakistan)
07-08-2009 - 09:10:49

10. good

thanks.
Submitted by: jay (China)
07-08-2009 - 00:19:14

11. Past, Present, Future

Thank you for your mentioning the paper-making invention by China made more than two thousand years ago. As Chinese, we are of course proud of the contributions our ancestors made to the world. However, we just cannot live on this glorious past. Instead, we should inherit it, enlarge it, improve it, and innovate it. Unfortunately, compared to the Westerners, we have done a lousy job in this respect. Past is past. Present is more important because it is a composite of the future.Therefore we should ask ourselves seriously what we should do today for the furture.
Submitted by: TANG Qixiong (the People's Republic of China)
07-07-2009 - 06:24:54

12. Interesting

Thanks for VOA's great articles, this way to make paper is so interesting, but why there is no listening link to this article ?
Submitted by: Paul Cui (China)
07-06-2009 - 01:57:40

13. We are proud of four great inventions.

For Chinese people, all of us know the greated four inventions in ancient China, papermaking, compass, printing, and gunpowder. These are the symbols of China. The whole world indeed benefits from these as well. But now what are our up to date inventions to the world?
Submitted by: Henry Li (China)
07-06-2009 - 00:33:12

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