TABLE OF CONTENTS The term, paper, has traditionally referred to (and still refers to) a material composed of thin sheets of matted or felted fibers, usually of cellulose. Paper is used as a base for writing and printing, for packaging and wrapping, as a filter medium and, in heavier sheets, as a raw material for manufacturing furniture and other products and as a building material. The sheets are produced by collecting the fibers on a fine wire screen from a dilute water suspension. The water is removed, the sheet is dried and the fibers bond together. Almost all common paper is made from cellulose fibers, but some specialty papers are made from synthetic or mineral fibers, bonded together by other methods.
Wood fibers make up the dominant raw material for paper. Many other fibers are also composed of cellulose and may be used in making paper. Natural fibers from plants other than wood, recycled wastepaper of various kinds and recycled paper board are also used. Fibers from linen, cotton or other scrap rags are ingredients in finer papers and, before the development of wood pulp processes, were a major ingredient in many papers. Wood fibers are obtained from the pulp-wood of tree trunks, often from smaller trees not suitable for lumber uses. Scrap and sawdust from the lumber, furniture and other woodworking industries are also used. Woods used include oak, beech, birch, aspen, gum, hemlock, pine, fir and spruce. Bamboo, hemp, jute, wheat...
