Handmade paper was produced by drying pulp, produced from beating cotton or linen rags in water, on wire trays. The lines of thinner paper produced by these wires are visible in ‘laid’ paper. ‘Wove’ paper, developed in the mid eighteenth century, is made from trays with a tightly-woven wire mesh which leave a smoother surface and no visible lines. Artists use both handmade and machine made paper, although handmade is often used for printmaking.
Paper is traditionally said to have been invented in China in the second century AD, but was not made in Europe until the twelfth century.