BOILER ROOM, CRANE & CO.
The contents of the rotary boiler have been emptied upon the floor. The next step is to wash and bleach.
Broadly speaking, there are five steps in the manufacture of paper:
1. The isolation of the paper-making fiber from the raw material.
2. The conversion of the fiber into pulp.
3. The beating and refining of the fiber, and the admixture of non-fibrous components.
4. The manufacture of the mixture into paper.
5. The finishing of the paper and its preparation for the market.
Cotton and linen rags, hemp, woods and plants each require their peculiar treatments. Cotton and linen, being the original paper-making fibers, will be considered first.
RAG STOCK.
Rag papers may be made from all sorts and conditions of rags, so the fineness of the finished product depends upon the newness and quality of the rags. New white cuttings from textile factories are the best, as their strength is unimpaired by previous use, and they may be prepared for manufacture with a minimum use of chemicals.
From this high standard, rags are graded down in accordance with their color, cleanliness and condition. The first sortings are made by stock-dealers, and the paper-maker orders whatever grades are suitable to his purpose. After their receipt at the mill, the bales of rags are opened, dusted by machine and distributed to girls, who sort them, open up the seams so as to release hidden dirt, remove buttons and other foreign material.
In the making of the highest grades, the new white rags are cut by hand into small pieces of uniform size, but ordinarily they are fed into a mechanical rag cutter. After this they are passed through a dusting machine to rid them as far as possible from dirt and foreign matter, which might otherwise appear as specks in the paper.