Handmade paper production process

China's traditional handmade paper production method, there is a whole set of production processes, regardless of what kind of raw materials are used, copying what kind of paper, basically the same steps. These main production processes are: soaking material, cooking material, washing material, sunshine white, playing material, fishing paper, squeezing dry, baking paper.

Soak material, also known as dip material, is the different raw materials according to the level of separation, tied into small bundles, soaked in the pond. Soaking time varies with the different varieties of raw materials, moso bamboo cut down to soak in the water for about half a month, straw bundles in the river generally soak 7 to 10 days, branches, hemp sticks soaked in about 10 days. The purpose of soaking is to dissolve (remove) soluble impurities in the raw material, laying the foundation for the manufacture of good pulp.

Cooking is an aqueous solution of alkali or lime at high temperatures to treat raw materials, the adhesion between the fibers of pectin, lignin, etc. to remove, so that the fibers are dispersed and become pulp. Cooking process is also different with different raw materials and there is a big difference: boiled mulberry bark first soaked in lime water for 10 minutes, and then put into the brilliant pot with lime water treatment for 5 days, and then take out the pile of fermentation. Straw only need a little lime slightly steamed or stacked fermentation, can become pulp.

Washing is the cooking pulp into the bag, after the water rinse and swing back and forth, the pulp in the mixed lime residue and cooking material dissolved in the wash.

Sun-whitening is the process of turning natural-colored pulp (ranging from gray, light yellow to brown) into white pulp. The traditional sun-whitening method is to put the washed pulp in the sun out, direct use of sunlight for about 2 to 3 months until the pulp color becomes white. Now some handmade paper is also produced when the use of bleaching powder for bleaching, but the amount of bleaching powder is less, bleaching time is also longer.

Punching is the use of manpower, water pestle, stone mills and other pulp pounded into mud paste, so that the pulp fiber filaments and broom, can be interwoven into a certain strength of the paper, punching is the most laborious process in the operation of artificial paper.

The paper is also called into the curtain or copy paper. Fishing paper is the first pulp and water on the day of the paper trough, so that the pulp fibers free suspension in the water, and then throw the bamboo curtain on the day of the paper trough lifted, so that the fibers are evenly spread on the bamboo curtain, forming a thin layer of wet paper, and finally copied into the wet paper moved next to the paper trough on the pile of wet paper.

Squeeze drying is to squeeze out the excess water in the wet paper, so that the wet paper has a certain strength, in order to facilitate the drying of the brush. When thousands of sheets of wet paper have been copied, the press facility is used to apply appropriate pressure so that the water inside the paper flows out slowly. Pressing should not be over-pressurized, otherwise it will affect the quality of the wet paper; after pressing the wet paper should not contain too much water after too little, in order to prevent the separation of paper broken or baked paper shedding.

Paper baking, also known as baking paper or sun paper, is the wet paper into a dry product can be used. The method of baking paper is to separate the wet paper after drying one by one, and then brush it against the outside of the drying wall, the use of the wall of the heat of the fire, transferred to the outer wall of the evaporation of the water inside the paper, so that the paper becomes dry. Baking paper baking wall surface temperature should not be too high, otherwise the paper is easy to wrinkle and brittle.