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Handmade Paper - A natural way of making MONEY

Eco-friendly Paper - It's not only unique in comparison to its peers but also among its own category

Handmade paper, unlike its counterparts such as writing printing grade paper, does not involve heavy plant and machinery and is generally manufactured with human hands. With less involvement of high power consumption machinery, application of cotton rags and waste paper as raw material and no discharge of chemical effluent, it can be classified as a environment-friendly paper. Each sheet of handmade paper is unique, designed to play an important role in the final work of art, sometimes as a simple support, others as part of the work, and sometimes forming the whole of the work itself.

Natural Raw Materials - The major ingredients of Handmade Paper

Makers of handmade paper obtain from the stems, internal barks, leaves and fruit of plants like cotton, Daphne, etc., the fibers which are the raw materials of their papers.

How Handmade Paper Is manufactured

After selecting the appropriate fiber, it is refined by chopping and maceration and, when appropriate, colored with pigments which guarantee imperviousness to light. There is a traditional system with frame and counter-frame and a metal screen. The frame is immersed in the tank which contains the dyed fiber pulp and the proper amount of water to produce a paper of a given weight. Once drained of excess water, the frame is immersed in another tank with another color. This process continues until the desired effect is achieved, and then the resulting mass is pressed to create a sheet of paper. The moisture usually varies from 50-65% Special techniques and tools permit handmade paper makers to achieve lines of colored pulp in their papers, either free form or precisely calculated in given widths, as well as areas of color, color fusions, changes of thickness, texture, etc. All of these variations permit the creation of unique works in any medium.

Easy to achieve Desired Quality - Calls for a huge -demand


It's popularity is increasing day by day due to the effective inbuilt qualities as it has huge tensile, bursting, tearing and double fold strength as compared to mill paper. Moreover, it does not turn brittle due to aging. The possibilities for accomplishment with handmade paper and paper pulp are limitless. Cotton rags are the most common raw material and due to its long fibers, handmade papers are usually durable and strong.

Important characteristics of handmade papers for fine-art use are

• Strength


• Durability


• Brilliance,


• Opacity


• Contractibility

Handmade Paper Industry - Low investment, High ROI - A highly profitable business

Handmade paper making is a sequence of simple unit operations resulting in a high price fetching end product. The simpler process along with less investment and huge returns has made this business profoundly profitable. Growing demand, less cost and high-end market are main lucrative features of Handmade Paper making. Due to relatively less investment and manifold return on investment, handmade paper units have evinced a strong interest among the manufacturers.

Indian Handmade Paper Industry - First Movers are not always Champions

Chinese and Japanese invented paper, but India is often credited with the development of Handmade Paper making. India and some of its South Asian counterparts, are one of the few leading producers and exporters of handmade paper.

Indian Handmade paper industry has witnessed a robust growth in recent years and is predicted to maintain this pace. The exports have crossed INR .1.5 billion mark by 2007 end, from a modest INR 350 million in 2001- 2002. In the year 2001-02 Indian Handmade Paper was exported to 73 countries. The total export was 10170.211 metric tons having a value of Rs.350 million. Although the quantum of production is low,Today there are about 157 handmade paper units in India and the export is expected to cross the 1.5 billion mark by the end of 2007.

Government Initiatives

Handmade Paper Industry offers five times more employment than the modern paper making units. Moreover it can be opened with little investment and can be a large source of employment in villages. In order to tap its enormous growth potential government has authorized agencies like Khadi and Village Industries Commission (Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries, Government of India) to encourage handmade paper making in India.