OCR Text |
Show Making Paper Then and Now Today the basic process of converting con-verting pulp into paper is essentially essential-ly the . same as it was when the Chinese discovetred it about 1,900 years ago. Then it was made by laboriously dipping a closely woven screen into a vat of water and fibrous fib-rous pulp, withdrawing it and shaking the screen as the water drained away. The dried web of fibers was paper produced one sheet at a time. Now paper is made by a precision machine in a continuous sheet up to 20 feet wide at speeds of nearly 2,000 feet a minute. Each machine forms, presses, dries, and, where required, requir-ed, coats paper in one continuous operation. |