Vatman forming a sheet of paper in Kashmir, India, 1917.

Photograph by W Raitt showing a turbanned craftsman making paper by hand. The pulp is mixed with water and placed on a framed porous screen. The water drains away leaving the paper which is then presed and dried. This method of paper-making was also used in Europe until the end of the 18th century, when machines for making continuous rolls of paper were introduced. Wood pulp and cellulose have largely been used in paper manufacture since the 19th century, but plant fibres and rags are also still used, as well as recycled paper.