Paper

Paper is widely used in several applications like books, documents, currency notes, tickets, facial tissues and newspapers. This fine material is created by the amalgamation of fibres, usually vegetable fibres made of cellulose. Hydrogen bonding is used to hold the amalgamated fibres together. Then wood pulp, hemp, cotton and other material are incorporated into the paper to impart the preferred physical properties. The different methods of papermaking include fibre processing, chemical pulping, mechanical pulping and paper recycling. Drying and finishing are the critical processes in papermaking to generate paper of good texture and quality.

The term ’paper’ has its origins in the papyrus writing material extracted from the papyrus plants in Ancient Egypt. The modern art of papermaking originated in China from where it reached the Middle East.

The different types of paper include Bond paper, newsprint and printer paper, among a variety of others Decorative paper is used for packing gifts for presentation. Paper is available in a variety of shapes, dimensions and colours. They are usually sold by paper manufacturers in bundles or sets. The paper used in books and magazines may differ in dimensions and styles. Crafts paper is used in schools by students to create objects and forms. Printer papers are of different specifications like A3, A4, etc to meet the various size requirements of printers. Photo paper provides images of exceptional quality. To prevent compromise of information security, paper shredders are used to shred sensitive documents into very thin strips and thus protect confidential information.