The Particulars of Paper Paper is so boring particularly with the advent of computers or the web. Paper is so small in its size, and easily destroyed, and therefore can be replaced. Is it possible that we are just thinking of it as a commodity? We've become accustomed to throwing a lot of paper items into the recycle bin and with it, the realization of its worth or value? Paper is much more than the average white 8 1/2 11 inch photocopy sheet found in every office in the globe. It's much more than thin gray pages of newspapers providing the latest financial and weather information. The paper is the result from an ancient method of recycling, which has been transformed into a work of resiliency and artistic flair. Let's have one look. Papermaking is amon g the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China (along with gunpowder, compass, and printing) and its first appearance in the second century BCE. It was not utilized to write until the following century, and was instead used to wrap silk for export. It was no t up to the end of the 6th century BCE that paper started its use for hygiene. In the year 922 CE China became the very first country to print currency on paper. Paper eventually was introduced across in the Middle East and Europe during the 13th century C E which led to the development of paper mills powered by water. Officials from the Imperial court of the Han Dynasty started to make paper they made use of a mixture of the mulberry fibbers, fishnets old hemp rags and other waste. At the time, paper was a form of art which meant that the procedure of producing it was extremely labour - intensive. At the time that paper made its way into in the Islamic culture of that time there were other industries that were equipped with technology that could be used in pap ermaking. Soon , mass manufacturing of finer papers transformed this art form into a product. But, it would take more than a thousand years before a method for using wood fibres for pulping to create paper was discovered. In 1844, two inventors, working in isolation of one another (one Canadian and one German) created the same method for pulverizing wood fibres to create paper. Nowadays, there are many complicated processes involved in the production of paper, but none of them are particularly fascinating. The most interesting are the seven different types of paper and the way it is determined. For instance, paper is classified according to the weight of each 500 - sheet Ream (in North America). A typical 20 - pound ream, 8 1/2 x 11.25 inches paper weighs five p ounds , but is often referred to as 20 pounds. Printing paper is typically sold in 20 - 24 and 32 pounds. Card stock weighs 110 pounds or more and cover stock is about 68 pounds. The seven categories of paper are printing, wrapping, drawing, writing, blottin g handmade, and special. Printing a4 paper size are the ones that we typically use in printers, copiers , and the fax. Wrapping papers aren't just the ones we use for Christmas and birthday gifts they also ser ve as also used in baking, the paper that is used for baking, as well as the Kraft paper that is used for crafting and in mailing. Writing paper is among the most varied in that it can be used for every kind of stationary including ledger book, bank papers bond paper, and fine paper that is used for carbon copying. Blotting papers are very thin and are often sold without any size class. Drawing papers are among the most fascinating because they are designed with depth and texture for design and artist. Each medium requires distinct compositions, and the grain options are numerous. Handmade papers are mostly decorative and can be identified by the absence of grain. Organic fibres, such as flowers, leaves, and silk threads are used to weave handmade papers. Pa pers that are specialties include those that's composition has a specific purpose. For instance, rolling and cigarette papers are made for burning at a particular velocity and in a specific direction. Toilet paper falls under the category of specialty pape rs along with industrial papers like litmus paper, sand paper or electrical insulation. The growing acceptance of environmental concerns in the workplace has put an unwelcome spotlight on the papermaking industry. There is a push to make use of recycled ma terials to make papers, and this is quite ironic when you consider the early development of paper. Today, there is a massive effort to discover completely different raw materials to create paper from. Paper foam is a new technology to be discovered as a re sult of the environmental movements. It's intended to replace paper packaging material. It can be produced in a similar procedure, is biodegradable and recyclable with conventional wood - based papers. The corn protein is being investigated as a potential ma terial to be used as a paper coating for packaging for food products. Even synthetic products like Type were tested as an alternative to print - on - demand applications like books and newspapers. It's far stronger than wood - based paper which is evident from i ts use as a vapour barrier during construction.