Editing Papermaking (section)

{{Short description|Economic sector}}
[[File:Papiermuseum Basel 2008 (38).jpg|thumb|A sheet of fibres which were just collected from the liquid suspension with the screen. The next steps are to press it and to dry it.]]
[[File:Jingangjing.png|thumb|The Diamond Sutra of the [[China|Chinese]] [[Tang dynasty]], the oldest dated printed book in the world, found at [[Dunhuang]], from 868 CE]]

'''Papermaking''' is the manufacture of [[paper]] and [[cardboard]], which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is [[Pulp and paper industry|made using industrial machinery]], while handmade paper survives as a specialized craft and a medium for [[paper art|artistic expression]].

In papermaking, a dilute suspension consisting mostly of separate cellulose fibres in water is drained through a sieve-like screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibres is laid down. Water is further removed from this sheet by pressing, sometimes aided by suction or vacuum, or heating. Once dry, a generally flat, uniform and strong sheet of paper is achieved.

Before the invention and current widespread adoption of automated machinery, all paper was made by hand, formed or laid one sheet at a time by specialized laborers. Even today those who make paper by hand use tools and technologies quite similar to those existing hundreds of years ago, as originally developed in China and other regions of Asia, or those further modified in Europe. Handmade paper is still appreciated for its distinctive uniqueness and the skilled craft involved in making each sheet, in contrast with the higher degree of uniformity and perfection at lower prices achieved among industrial products.