You use paper just about everywhere you go! Paper was a revolutionary invention because it is used in a countless amount of things: from books, to masks! Paper is just old trees that have been mashed up and their fibers have been separated. Fibers are tiny hooks or barbs that keep things together. Once they have the mixture of old trees, they join the fibers together to create paper.
Here are the steps to making paper:
- Cut down old trees (or get old paper from a recycling center)
- Grind up the old trees or old paper into a powder. Then, add water to make a substance called pulp. (People stir this mixture to loosen the fibers)
- Lay this pulp into a sheet on a filer or a mold. A roller will make the pulp flat.
- The pulp will, dry in the Sun or be dried by artificial heat like a heater. (When the pulp dries, the fibers will join back together)
- The dried pulp is taken off the mold or filter and is cut into smaller pieces for paper. That is how paper is made!!
The paper that you buy at the store (like notebook paper) has a ruled design in it. That is all made in another step known as printing. That is when they use ink to print the designs on the paper.