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| Type | Paper |
|---|---|
| Material | Fiber crop rags |
| Introduced | 106 CE, China |
Rag paper, or rag-made paper, is a category of paper that is made from discarded textiles, rope, and other fiber products. Rag paper in its various forms was a widely used paper for most of the past two millennia. Rag paper is valued today as a specialty paper for its archival quality and strength compared to wood pulp paper.
The invention of rag paper is attributed to Cai Lun in 106 CE, Luoyang, China, when he beat hemp and ramie rags with rope scraps, paper mulberry and other fibers into a pulp. Dunhuang and Turfan were major centers of rag paper production in the first millennium, possibly due to their desert environment incentivizing rag re-use versus mulberry paper production. Rag paper production declined in China after the 10th century due to the rising cost of textiles. [1] [2]
Rag paper was introduced to the Middle East through the Silk Road prior to the 8th century, but domestic production only began by the 8th century, particularly in Baghdad. Arab papermakers developed 'pure' rag paper, made from an alternative pulp entirely constituting linen rags; this paper supplanted papyrus and parchment for most uses by the 11th century. [3] [4] : 678
Rag paper spread to Al-Andalus by the mid-10th century, with Xàtiva being a major production center of linen rag paper by the 11th century. Sephardic Jews were heavily involved in the rag paper industry. The Reconquista saw Spanish Christians increasingly in possession of libraries of Andalusian paper books, spurring a Western European paper industry utilizing cotton rags in addition to linens. [5] [6]
In the late 12th century, rag paper spread to Italy through Mediterranean trade with the merchant republics. Amalfi paper was an increasingly relevant Italian rag paper by the early 13th century, marked by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor banning its use for court documents. [7]
Following the invention of the printing press in the 16th century, the cost of book production dropped significantly, increasing paper demand. Printing press production speeds did not significantly increase until the 1812 invention of the steam-powered printing press by Friedrich Koenig. Conversely, the 1799 invention of the paper machine mechanized the rag paper industry. [8]
The 1844 invention of the rotary printing press and the rise of literacy in industrialized nations increased demand for and output of print products. As the rag paper print economy hit its zenith in the 1850s, industrial paper producers struggled to meet paper demand as it outpaced rag-picking. In the United Kingdom, excise taxes on rags coupled with foreign demand for rag exports particularly bottle-necked the British rag paper industry; producers attempted to increase supply by bleaching colored rags, and housemaids were implored to sell their spare rags instead of keeping them as menstrual rags. The London Times put out a bounty in 1855 for £1,000 for an alternative to rag paper. [8] [9] [10]
With the introduction of esparto grass paper in the 1860s and sulfite process pulpwood paper in the later 19th century, rag-paper became increasingly economically obsolete. Newspapers were greatly incentivized to shift to newsprint, to minimize printing costs; however, archival quality suffered immensely. [10] [11]
Rag-pickers would collect rags from urban areas to sell to producers, which would in turn make rag paper for sale back to city centers. Collected rags were cut, then washed to remove impurities. The washed rags are ground into a pulp, then the pulp made into a slurry before screening, sizing and drying. [9] [12]
Industrialized rag paper production saw the introduction of paper machines, mechanical washers, and mounted scythe workstations to process larger amounts of rags. [12]
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