Sources and Geographical Origins

A sheet of paper has a history before it reaches a designer. Its raw material is the starting substance used to make it, while its manufacturing location is where that substance is processed into a usable material. These may be different places: raw materials can be transported to a factory elsewhere.

For paper and board, a useful sequence is plant material → pulp → manufactured sheets. Pulp is a mass of separated plant fibres. Wood is a common starting material: trees are chipped into small pieces and processed to separate the fibres. The pulp is then formed into sheets, rolled and dried. Bamboo and grasses can also supply fibres, while waste paper can be re-pulped to make new sheets.

This connects the material's natural source with the paper or cardboard that a manufacturer buys. Pulp itself can also be supplied to another factory for further processing.

China, the USA and Japan: pulp, paper and cardboard

China, the USA and Japan are important production locations for pulp, paper and cardboard. Remember all three countries and all three materials together. They are not the only places that produce these materials.

Production depends on more than having a supply of plants. Manufacturers also need to obtain and transport raw materials and process them economically. Access to supplies, transport and large-scale manufacturing helps explain the importance of these countries in paper and board production.

Eastern Asia: rice paper

Rice paper is associated with Eastern Asia. The rice paper considered here is made from the rice-paper plant: its name should not be taken to mean that it is ordinary paper made from rice grains.

Eastern Asia is a region rather than a single country. Keep this regional association distinct from the three named countries linked to pulp, paper and cardboard.

Why origins matter to a designer

Knowing a material's origin helps a designer understand its journey from raw material to finished product. For example, paper made using newly processed wood and paper made using re-pulped waste paper have different raw-material histories. Considering that history alongside where processing takes place helps inform material choices and their environmental background.