HOW TO MAKE PAPER STEP BY STEP - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Paper is a thin sheet produced from cellulose pulp that comes from tree fibers. Its manufacture requires a long and complex process that also involves a significant expenditure of energy and water, with the consequent emission of gases into the atmosphere, which is why the rational use of paper is very important.

There are many types of paper depending on its use; from toilet paper and newspaper, through kraft paper, liner, parchment, cardboard, coated, carbonless, adhesive, metallized, thermal, labels, etc.

The first step in making paper is cutting down trees.

All types of paper start from the same initial process, and only vary in their final phase, where different components are added depending on the use that will be given to it. The following explains how paper is manufactured step by step.

The papermaking process: steps

1- Plantation

This process begins with the planting of the forest of trees for that purpose. They are plantations of fast-growing species that follow sustainability criteria.

2- Debarked

When the trees have reached the necessary height they are felled and once felled, the trees are debarked.

In some cases such as eucalyptus, for example, this process is carried out manually, while in the case of pine and other species the process is chemical or mechanical, the latter being the most common.

This operation is carried out by rubbing inside a drum in a humid environment.

3- Storage

The cut and debarked wood must be stored for a long time to avoid contagion and prevent the attack of microorganisms.

In the case of leafy species, they are stored for 6 months before being used; the resinous species, more than a year.

4- Shredding

After debarking, the logs are shredded and reduced to small chips known as chips.

To achieve a uniform size, the chips pass through a series of blades and sieves that reject the very large pieces to be cut again.

5- Paper pulp

The paste is obtained by chemically treating the wood, by means of cooking phases with soda and other components.

6- Whitening

The pulp is subjected to a treatment with hydrogen peroxide and oxygen, although there are more modern procedures.

In this phase, the wood is released from all its non-cellulosic components, such as lignin.

7- Pasta sheets

Once the pulp has been bleached, if the factory is integrated, it is sent through pipes to the corresponding section.

If it is not integrated, pulp sheets with 10% humidity will be manufactured for trucking to other paper mills.

8- Preparation of cellulose

The cellulose pulp sheets that arrive at the factory must be disposed of by means of an operation carried out in the Pulper, which is a container with a propeller in its lower part that shakes the sheets and the rubbing causes the fibers to loosen.

9- refining

As the pulper is shaken, the pasta goes through a kind of sieve that prevents the passage of large pieces.

Through refining, the pulp acquires the specific skills it needs depending on the type of paper to be manufactured, but it basically consists of passing the pulp through two elements (one fixed and the other rotating).

10- Mixed

After refining, the pulp is transferred to the mixing tank where different components such as bleaches (chlorine dioxide, ozone, enzymes, etc.), sizing agents and fillers are added that provide greater opacity and better printing qualities to the paper.

11- Constant level tub

This mixture of components is sent to a constant level vat, where the mass always maintains the same flow rate to guarantee a uniform mass.

From this moment on, the manufacture of the paper itself begins.

12- Inlet box

The diluted pulp stream passes through the headbox and is transformed into a thin, wide and uniform sheet of liquid, which contains all the components of the paper as perfectly distributed as possible.

13- Manufacturing table

The fibrous suspension is sent to the manufacturing table on an endless fabric where the paper sheet will be formed.

This fabric moves in two directions: longitudinally (also called fiber) and transversely (known as counter fiber).

In this movement the fibers of the paper are organized and this influences both the quality of the printing and the folding and binding.

14- Dewatering

When the diluted paste hits the fabric, it is 99% water and has to go through different processes to remove its excess.

At the beginning the drainage process is fast due to the great dilution of the paste and due to the effect of gravity, but later a compact layer is formed that makes the elimination of water more difficult.

At that time, the action of foils, suction boxes and drain rollers is used, which act energetically according to the difficulty of extracting water from the sheet.

When the sheet reaches the end of the fabric, it has a humidity of approximately 80% and is ready to receive more vigorous treatments aimed at removing the remaining water.

15- Pressing

The press is the section placed immediately after the fabric and where the removal of water from the paper continues by mechanical means, going from 80% to 60%. In pressing, the consolidation of the sheet takes place to a certain extent.

16- Drying

At this stage, the excess moisture in the paper can only be removed with heat. The dryer is generally divided into two sections in which heat is applied to the paper through large hot cylinders.

The paper is pulling itself, which generates tensions between the fibers called internal tensions.

This conditions in a special way the quality of the paper, since these tensions can cause dimensional instability in the printing.

Machines like the "Size Press" or the "Gate-Roll" help to solve this problem by applying a small layer of binder on the surface of the paper in order to improve tear resistance.

17- Rolled

After being dried, the paper is rolled up in a machine called "Pope". From here, the paper can follow two paths: if it is not coated, it goes directly to the Finishes section; if it is coated, it will then go through the coating machine.

18- Plastered

It is the application of a kind of paint called "Salsa" that improves the printing conditions of the paper.

This sauce is made in the factory kitchen, and is made up of pigments, optical brighteners, resins, microbicides, and other components.

It is applied by means of a roller and it is dosed and equalized thanks to a steel sheet. It dries with infrared rays that apply heat to the paper.

19- Finishes

When the paper comes out of the coater it is matte in appearance. To make it glossy or semi-matte, it must be passed through the calender, a series of alternating hard and soft metal rollers that press on the paper and cause the gloss.

20- Winding

Finally, the paper goes to the winder to convert the jumbo reel into smaller reels that can be sent to the customer or that follow other paths to be transformed into sheets or other paper products.

21- Cut

The cutter is the machine that transforms the roll paper into sheets. It has very sharp blades to ensure a precise cut without dust that can cause printing problems.

22- Packaging and distribution

The cut paper is ready to be packed and distributed to the final points of sale.

As can be seen, it is a long road that begins with a tree and ends on the paper we write, read or pack on.

References

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2. Knows how to make paper since it is a tree. Recovered from veoverde.com
3. How paper is made. Recovered from laprestampa.wordpress.com
4. How is the paper made? Recovered from creativosonline.org
5. How paper pulp is made. Recovered from ecoempaqes.com.pe
6. The manufacture of paper. Recovered from graciaspapel.es