Canning and Fish Packaging Technology

Unit 13 - Paper and Board

13.1.1.History of paper
The discovery of paper is credited to a Chinese scholar and government official named Tsai Lun in 105 AD. He obtained paper by grinding wood/ bamboo, mixing the pulp obtained with water and evenly beating the mixture in a wooden vat with addition of more water to form suspension of fibres in water (finally formed the fibres into a flat sheet suitable for writing). He created a mold by stretching coarsely woven cloth between bamboo sticks in a rectangular frame. After stirring the mixture to make the fibres float freely be dipped the mould into the slurry and lifted it vertically to allow the water to drain through the cloth. When water was well drained, the matted fibres were laid in the sun to dry and finally formed fibres into a flat sheet suitable for writing. Even at present the principle of manufacture of paper and board has remained unchanged. But it took some 500 years for this secret to travel from china to Korea in 600 AD. 10 years later, the art of paper making was brought to Japan and 10th century it reached Cairo and Damascenes. First known installation in Europe was brought by Moors to Latvia, Spain in 1151 AD. Subsequently it spread to other countries like France, Italy, Germany and England in 16th Century. In 1690, first paper will was built at Pennsylvania in the U.S.