India Handmade Paper...

Handmade paper is an ancient art and is thought to have come to India from the Northwestern parts. It was revived during the Swadeshi movement by Mahatma Gandhi. Handmade paper can be made using a bewildering variety of natural materials and dyes as well as a number of finishing techniques. This is what makes handmade papermaking more an art than an industrial process. The paper maker lends to each sheet and variety of paper his very own little something: the technique of dyeing the pulp, adding the mottling substance, drawing out the sheet, and lending it a texture. Owing to its natural unprocessed fiber content, handmade paper is stronger, has a longer life, artistic feel and an elegant natural look. Handmade paper today is made by recycling agricultural wastes like bagasse, cotton rags, straw, jute, wool, etc., which makes it a bio-degradable and therefore environment-friendly product.

The basic process of making paper by hand is fairly simple. It can be divided into the following stages:

Preliminary Treatment: The first step is to collect the basic raw material like straw, leaves, rags, or other fibrous materials and break it down to small bits and pieces for treatment.

Beating: Small bits and pieces placed in a vat are beaten with a heavy pestle to separate the fibers. Then the mixture is washed under running water to remove impurities. Once the fibers have been sufficiently broken up and cleaned, they are kept in suspension, to make a pulp/stock.

Sheet Formation: The chief tool of the papermaker is the mould, which is inside a wooden frame called – deckle. The vat man or the papermaker dips the deckle with the mould into the vat containing the fiber-water mixture. The vat is shaken to distribute the pulp evenly, while the extra water drains out, the individual fibers interlock, giving strength to the sheets.

Pressing: The wet sheets are lifted by the vat man and transferred to a woolen felt by mild pressing. The wire pattern of the mould imprints itself onto the finished sheets. Different patterns, textures, designs could then be given to the sheets.

Peeling and Drying: The sheets are dried to remove the extra moisture. Drying is either done naturally by placing the sheets under the Sun or with a traditional Japanese device called Tau Suki.

Sizing: Handmade papers are generally treated with glue and starch to prevent ink from blotting on it. Sizing prevents the absorption of inks and fluids on paper. This finally gives the paper long life. The paper making process is over once the sized sheets are dry. These brand new sheets of paper are ready for use.