Hemp fabric, soaked in a slaked-lime solution and beaten by hand for 15 minutes. (Elizabeth Boyne)

Archeologists found the first and oldest piece of paper recorded in Asia dates from the Western Han dynasty around 105 CE. Made of hemp it was very crude. Peasants were encouraged to grow grains during the Han dynasty, one being hemp. In early paper making women soaked hemp in water and beat it on wash blocks of stone. Does this mean women invented paper? [Read more]

The Drinkable Book is a manual that provides safe water tips, printed in non-toxic, food grade ink on paper coated with silver nanoparticles, which kills water-borne diseases like cholera, E. coli and typhoid. Each book is 25 pages, and each page filters water for about 6 months – giving people who receive it tools to have clean water for about 12.5 years. (Jamie Mahoney)

Session III, Panel 4. “Printing the Drinkable Book: Advances in Paper in the Twenty-First Century,” presented by Jamie Mahoney” ¶ Divers Digital Desiderata: Explorations in Digital Printing,” presented by John Labovitz ¶ “Hand Papermaking & the Printed Word: Dynamic Tools for Healing,” presented by Amy Richard.  [Read more]

Dennis Ichiyama at the San Francisco Center for the Book. (Photo courtesy of SFCB)

Several Vandercook presses were rolling out impressions of 50-line wood type, each inked with its own vibrant color, as I entered the San Francisco Center for the Book. Because of the informality of the presentation, I was able to ask questions about the materials used in the demonstration. [Read more]