Although many people don't give it much thought, paper milling is a huge industry that impacts almost everyone in some way. Every day, books, cardboard boxes, receipts, tissues, and printer paper all begin in a paper mill, where raw plant fibers are turned into finished sheets or packaging materials. The paper used to write on, the cardboard box you received in the mail, the paper towel you dry your hands with, the receipt you toss in the trash, all of it started its life at a paper mill. Paper mills convert plant fibers that are found in raw materials such as wood into paper products. In many cases, these paper products are the final output, but in others such as corrugated fiberboard boxes and other types of packaging, paper products are the intermediate products. The most prevalent raw material for paper making is wood. Logs are debarked and chipped into small pieces. These chips are put into large tanks and turned into a liquid that is composed of cellulose fibers and is referred to as pulp. The two most common ways of making the pulp for paper making is through chemical or mechanical processes. The chemical process involves treating the chips with high temperatures and chemicals to release the chemical that binds them all together. When a mechanical pulping process is used, the wood is ground up into fibers and keeps most of the material, making it useful for products like newsprint. It is common, depending on the type of paper being manufactured, for the pulp to be washed and screened to remove contaminants or any particles that are too large for that type of paper. Depending on the paper mill's final output, dyes, fillers or other coatings may be added to the mix. If recycling of the raw material is utilized, the pulping process is a little different. Paper can be broken down and cleaned from the ink so that it can be utilized for a new batch of paper products, saving natural resources and reducing waste. When the mixture that is being processed is ready, water is added until the mixture reaches a certain dilution and then it is spread onto a sieve or screen that is moving. As the water filters out of the sieve, the fibrous fibers start to bind together into thin sheets. As these sheets move along, they pass through rollers that remove additional water and dryers that use heat to finish the evaporation of moisture. Once the paper is mostly dried, it is then put through a process to smooth it out, cut it to size, roll it up or any of the processes that are necessary to produce the type of paper mill output the factory needs. It can then be shipped off to another company if more processes need to be completed or be sent off to the end user in the form of a newspaper or a notebook. While modern-day paper mills are not as environmentally friendly as they could, many use recycled fiber, cleaner energy systems, and sustainable forestry practices to reduce their impact. Even in this modern, computer-driven economy, paper mills play a big role in our society. The cardboard box you received from Amazon, the food you buy at your local market, the books and newspapers that you read, labels that identify your products and your toilet paper, all of these products came to you through a paper mill. The next time you are using any paper product, look back at what the process of producing it and the people who work to make it a reality!