Pre-Modern China The invention of rag paper is attributed to
Cai Lun in 106 AD,
Luoyang, China, when he beat
hemp and
ramie rags with rope scraps,
paper mulberry and other fibres into a
pulp.
Dunhuang and
Turfan were major centres of rag paper production in the first millennium, possibly due to their location in a desert environment that incentivised rag reuse versus
mulberry paper production. Rag paper production declined in China after the 10th century due to the rising cost of textiles.
Islamic world Rag paper was introduced to the Middle East through the
Silk Road prior to the 8th century, but domestic production only began by the 8th century, particularly in
Baghdad. Arab papermakers developed 'pure' rag paper, made from an alternative
pulp entirely constituted from
linen rags; this paper supplanted
papyrus and
parchment for most uses by the 11th century. Some 13th-14th-century Muslims were initially skeptical of rag paper imported from Europe, proposing that it broke
Islamic dietary laws vis-a-vis Christian worker contamination, as well as objecting to Christian
watermarks.
Ibn Marzuq dismissed these concerns in a
fatwa, pointing to the cleaning process and historical alternative writing material use as justifications.
Europe Rag paper spread to
Al-Andalus by the mid-10th century, with
Xàtiva being a major production center of linen rag paper by the 11th century.
Sephardic Jews were heavily involved in the rag paper industry. The
Reconquista saw Spanish Christians increasingly in possession of libraries of Andalusian paper books, spurring a Western European paper industry utilizing
cotton rags in addition to linens. In the late 12th century, rag paper spread to Italy through Mediterranean trade with the
merchant republics.
Amalfi paper was a particularly relevant Italian rag paper by the early 13th century; its prevalence as a writing material is marked by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor banning its use for court documents, in favor of
parchment.
Modern Early modern Following the invention of the
printing press in the 15th century, the cost of book production dropped significantly, increasing paper demand. This introduced rag shortages for producers in Italy and Holland, and a rag export market demand for less urban regions like
Portugal and the
New World colonies. Rag exporters and local paper mills competed for a limited rag supply, like in the
Republic of Lucca, a major rag paper production center: a late-16th-century rag shortage led to conflict between rag exporters and local paper mills, leading to a 1695 accord to regulate the rag export market. Printing press production speeds did not significantly increase until the 1812 invention of the steam-powered printing press by
Friedrich Koenig. Conversely, the 1799 invention of the
paper machine mechanized the rag paper industry. As the
Industrial Revolution spread, Western Europe became the major exporters of rag paper, enjoying ample rag supply from urban center
ragpickers and
industrial textile production. The
Ottoman Empire's domestic paper industry collapsed over the course of the late 18th century, succumbing to rag shortages and European price competition. The nascent American rag paper industry struggled to meet rag demand as well, as colonists could not be dissuaded from keeping rags for their own use; states and industrialists implored people to keep 'rag bags' to increase supplies. == Production ==