The paper we use today is made by machine. Trees are cut up and processed into a mixture called wood pulp. The pulp, containing tiny cellulose fibers, is pressed and rolled out to form sheets of paper.

The first manmade writing material was not paper. About 4,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians took the fibrous stems of the papyrus plant, flattened them, laid them crosswise, and pressed them down to stick them together. When dried, this made a piece of papyrus that could be written on.

Paper was first made in China around the year 105 CE by a man called Ts'ailun. He found a way to make paper from the stringy inner bark of the mulberry tree. The bark was pounded in water to separate the fibers. This mixture was then poured into a bamboo tray to let the water drain out. After that, the soft mat of paper was moved onto a smooth, flat surface to dry. Later, someone discovered that the paper could be improved by brushing it with starch to make it stronger.

Chinese traders travelled around Asia as far as Samarkand. There, they met with Arab merchants who learned the secret of making paper and took it to Spain. Afterwards, the art of papermaking spread throughout the rest of Europe.

Since then, many kinds of machines have been invented and improved methods discovered for making paper. One of the most important, for example, was a machine developed in France in 1798. This machine could make a continuous sheet or web of paper. Before, paper could only be produced in separate sheets.