Paper
Making the paper itself from the mushy pulp does not take longer than fifteen seconds; this highly fascinating operation seems like something akin to a miracle to the eye of the untrained observer and even those who are familiar with the area of the mechanical sciences have a great deal of respect when they see a pulp (…) transformed into a thick and dry sheet of paper which can be carried by a copper roller that weighs several pounds.
Anonymous report from the year 1820
Paper is a material made of prepared plant fibres that acts as a substrate for writing and graphic images. Paper types with different properties are created by dyeing, adding fillers and size, pressing and smoothing. The changeover from hand papermaking to industrial production (Factory) using machines (Technology) and the transition to new pulps (groundwood, chemical pulping) required large investments (Capital), but was a vital prerequisite for the widespread emergence of publishers, journals, and newspapers, and therefore of education and science.
Paper manufacturer Gustav Schaeuffelen from Heilbronn, who worked closely with mechanic Johann Jakob Widmann in his initial years, was a pioneer in German paper machine construction. With the comparatively inexpensive machines, the two of them paved the way into the industrial era for many paper producers.