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Daler-Rowney History of
Paper
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Paper
was first made in China around 1000 AD, but inventor T'sai Lun's
process was kept secret until the Battle of Samakund, almost 700
years later.
Arab troops prised the secret from Chinese prisoners of war, and
the first factory was set up in Bagdad in 703 AD, using Chinese
labour.
From there, paper-making travelled across the Arab world to
Damascus, then to Egypt, and on into the southern Mediterranean.
It took 600 years to reach England where Caxton used it on the
first printing press |
During
the reign of Elizabeth 1 in the 16th century, paper mills had to
be licensed by the monarch, and needed a royal warrant to collect
rags from their own area.
They thought the plague was carried on dirty rags, and imposed
restrictions to prevent the disease spreading outside the licensed
area.
The 18th Century heralded important changes. Montgolfier, famous
for the first hot air balloon made of paper, invented a
semi-automatic papermaking machine.
Four years later, the two Fourdrinier brothers and tin can
inventor Bryan Donkin used his basic design to produce the first
continuous paper-making machine.
The
Fourdrinier machine, used for ordinary commercial paper, remains
basically the same today.
A mixture of fibre and water flows onto a moving horizontal wire
mesh screen. The water drains through, leaving a fibrous matt on
top of the mesh.
Although it is the most popular machine for everyday paper-making,
it is unable to produce the many specialist papers required by
artists.
Artist's paper is usually made on a cylinder mould machine.
Instead of the horizontally moving wire, it has a one-metre
diameter cylinder, covered in a fine mesh.
This
revolves slowly in a vat of dilute fibres, which are picked up on
the cylinder screen as the water drains away, producing a
continuous sheet of paper with two deckle edges.
The paper is then passed between a roller and a fabric felt which
results in its particular surface characteristic.
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Select
Your Surface
Oil Painting Paper
Used
for practice work, preliminary sketches and all forms of oil
painting. Its unique coating effectively holds the oil colour and
prevents absorption.
Pastel Paper
Must
be acid free and have a level of 'tooth' to allow soft pastels to
be abraded or shaved against its high spots. Daler-Rowney's Ingres
paper in a range of colours is a perfect choice.
Water
Colour Paper
Water
colour paper must absorb water without breaking down (wet
strength) and carry colour on its surface.
Acrylic Painting Paper
Heavy
body acrylic is used like oil paint. Diluted, it performs like
water colour.
Daler-Rowney
make a range of spiral Bound books of paper primed for acrylic
painting.
Sketching
and Drawing Paper
Daler-Rowney
papers include smooth hard surfaces, medium and heavy weight
cartridge and softer papers with maxi-mum tooth for soft pencil
and charcoal sketching
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