Making Paper at Home - Part 1

As discussed in the last Book Arts article, "The History of American Papermaking," there are many advantages to making paper by hand, the best one being that it's FUN (some would agree that it's even addictive)! In this week's Part I, the focus will be on some basic techniques that are used to make paper at home. Part II will finish up with basic techniques as well as list links to sites where you can buy papermaking supplies and handmade paper from some great artists on the Web.

Fiber

The main ingredient in papermaking is the fiber. The fiber actually binds together to form the paper and is available to hand papermakers in a number of different forms, including cloth, raw fiber, partially-processed fiber, and pulp. (Most fibers require some treatment before they are ready to be used for making paper.) When choosing fibers, you want to choose them based not only on how they look and feel, but also taking into consideration the kind of equipment you have and the time and effort you want to put into preparing the pulp.

Making paper from cloth requires a lot of prep time because the individual cellulose fibers have been spun into thread and then woven (or connected in some other way). The effect of these processes must be undone to separate the individual fibers, which are also held together by nonfibrous materials. Any natural fiber cloth, such as cotton, linen, or ramie, will work for making paper. Traditional methods for breaking down cloth fiber include fermenting and beating, and using either a stamper or a Hollander beater.

A large variety of raw fibers can be used for papermaking as well. These fall into three categories: bast or inner bark fibers (such as flax and kozo), leaf fibers (like abaca and sisal), and grass fibers (such as bamboo and rice straw). Raw fibers often require cooking, retting or fermenting, and beating, which may be done by hand as an alternative to using a stamper or Hollander beater.

Another option is to work with partially-processed fiber. This category would include a wide range of products from cotton half-stuff (partially processed cotton from the textile industry, requiring a stamper or Hollander beater to successfully prepare it for papermaking) to sheets of cotton linter or abaca. The fiber in sheet form has already been treated to allow it to be used by papermakers with relatively simple preparation. This fiber can be turned into pulp by using a hydropulper, which churns fiber and water together or a blender.

The easiest alternative for papermakers, which requires no equipment at all, is to purchase ready-made pulp from a mill or facility with a Hollander beater. Some places can accommodate custom orders for combinations of fibers, color matching, and the inclusion of additives. Some of them require you to pick up the pulp from them, while others will ship pulp directly to you.

Additives

Although some papermakers think that the best paper comes from the vats containing only pulped fiber and water, there are a lot of chemical additives that can be used beneficially in hand papermaking. Chemicals are added to the pulp either during the mixing stage or in the vat itself before sheet forming. Synthetic aids that help with formation are being used more frequently, and in recent years, papermakers have experimented using formation aids with Western-style sheet forming to achieve various decorative effects. The most traditional additives in Western papermaking (ignoring bleaching agents, which are used to whiten fibers but are then rinsed out before sheets are formed) are "sizes," which inhibit the water-soaking qualities of the fiber in paper so that writing or painting on the paper doesn't bleed.

Colored paper can be made from colored cloth and rags, but most hand papermakers use dyes or pigments to change the color of a pulp. There are a lot of different ways to color fiber and several variables involved in selecting the best method for a particular fiber and desired effect. In general, colorants are mixed in with pulp before it is added to the vat. Most pigments require an additive called a retention aid or agent to help them adhere to the fiber.

Other additives used in hand papermaking include fillers and whiteners. Fillers occupy some of the gaps between fibers in paper and make the paper somewhat dense and more opaque. They may also serve as buffering agents to make paper less acidic. Calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate are the most commonly used fillers. Whiteners, like titanium oxide, also end up in the spaces between fibers, but their specific purpose is to create a brighter finished sheet. Because both of these types of additives may inhibit fiber-to-fiber bonding, they may diminish the strength of paper made from pulp to which they have been added. While most paper fibers are benign in their health effects, many chemical additives are not. Powdered pigments, in particular, can be quite toxic and, once airborne, are easily inhaled. Many additives are poisonous if ingested. Certain ones can also cause rashes and other skin reaction on hands and arms dipped into the vat. Please use caution when dealing with all of these chemicals! Good ventilation and masks are recommended when using powdered pigments; gloves or the use of a skin guard may be appropriate to avoid contact sensitivity. Because of the variety of additives available, make sure you research the subject carefully before using them to make your own paper.

Next time: A discussion on paper molds, methods for beating and drying paper, and great links to papermaking sites!