What is Paper?
Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets.
Paper is a versatile material with many uses. Whilst the most common is for writing and printing upon, it is also widely used as a packaging material, in many cleaning products, in a number of industrial and construction processes, and occasionally as a food ingredient, particularly in Asian cultures.
How Paper Originated?
When one normally thinks of the origin of paper the first thing that comes to mind is Egypt and the River Nile. It is the valley of the river Nile that the marsh grass called Cyperous Papyrus thrived. The Egyptian cut the stem of the plant into thin strips and soaked in the water of the Nile. This softened the stem. Then these strips were arranged to form a mat and pounded to form a thin sheet. This sheet was sun dried. The resulting sheet was used to write on and as it was light it was easy to carry around. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to record events, write spiritual texts and create works of art used these sheets. It is from the word papyrus that the word paper is derived. It has been discovered that the Mayans made something similar to keep records in the second century AD. This was nothing like the paper that we use today it was more of a mat.
Where would we be without it? Did you know that there are more than 5,000 products made from paper and paper-making by-products? In the U.S., most paper is made from trees, and because wood is a renewable resource which is wisely managed by U.S. timber companies, we will always have plenty of trees - and paper - for future generations to enjoy.
Here are just a few of the many important products made from paper, and the wood chemicals derived from the paper-making process such as: bank checks, banners, tracing paper, crayon wrappers, election ballots, notebooks & notebook, paper bags,paper money,shipping containers, stationery, tags & labels, bandages, Braille paper, coffins, baking cups, carpeting & upholstery, dried-food boxes, coasters, coffee filters, coupons, disposable diapers, doilies, drinking straws, egg cartons, emery boards, wrapping paper, ice cream containers, napkins, paper plates & cups, paper towels, place mats, popcorn bags, wallpaper, etc.
Future of Paper
Some manufacturers have started using a new, significantly more environmentally friendly alternative to expanded plastic packaging made out of paper, known commercially as paper-foam. The packaging has very similar mechanical properties to some expanded plastic packaging, but is biodegradable and can also be recycled with ordinary paper.
With increasing environmental concerns about synthetic coatings and the higher prices of hydrocarbon based petrochemicals, there is a focus on zein (corn protein) as a coating for paper in high grease applications such as popcorn bags. Also, synthetics such as Tyvek and Teslin have been introduced as printing media as a more durable material than paper.