Laid paper

Before the mechanization of papermaking, paper was made by hand, using a wire sieve mounted in a rectangular mould to produce a single sheet at a time.

Improvements in mould making in the early 1800s lifted the chain wires slightly, resulting in a more evenly toned sheet.

[1][3] Modern papermaking techniques use a dandy roll to create the laid pattern during the early stages of manufacture, similar to the way a watermark is added to handmade papers.

During this process, a dandy roll with a laid mesh pattern is pressed into the wet stock, displacing the cellulose fiber.

The grain direction of a sheet (the orientation along which the majority of the cellulose fibers settle) is generally parallel to these chain lines.