my wonderful zoo

Chapter 239 Micro Sculpture
Feeling the various papers in his hands, Chen Xun couldn't help but sigh, professional things should be left to professional people.After these papers are developed, even if they cannot be made into banknote paper, they can be used for other purposes.

"If mechanical crushing, mixing and other processes can be used, this kind of paper made entirely of grass is very suitable for wiping butts because its cost is very, very low."

It turns out that this is how the name "traw paper" came about.

"What about the mixed material paper you mentioned?" Chen Xun asked.

"Here." Zheng Zhi distributed the last pile of paper in his hand to everyone: "This paper uses [-]% floral cotton, [-]% kapok, [-]% hemp, and some other materials."

Chen Xun vaguely remembered that the cotton content of US dollars in later generations exceeded [-]%.

Touching the mixed paper in your hand, the quality is indeed not as good as the kind of paper with the highest cotton content, but it has surpassed the quality of food stamps in later generations.

Food stamps can also be regarded as a kind of paper currency, which is based on grain.

Since New China can use food stamps to stabilize its finances, Chen Xun believes that the banknotes he made using this mixed paper should also be able to do so.

"How much does it cost?" Chen Xun asked.

"The cotton output here is too low, and purchasing cotton from outside has become the largest cost expenditure for this kind of paper. Based on the current cost of raw material procurement, a three-foot-wide and six-foot-long piece of banknote paper costs three cents." Zheng Zhi had already calculated it and answered happily.

Three pennies..., compared with the bamboo paper that is currently the most produced by the military government, the price is nearly twenty times higher.

Among the raw materials just mentioned, cotton is currently mainly produced in southwestern areas such as Guangnan West Road and Shudi, and has not yet been widely popularized in Guangzhou.

Kapok is a local product, and the plant grows quickly and at very low cost.

Hemp is already a very mature crop and has been cultivated for thousands of years. The overall yield is higher than cotton and the price is lower.

"This cost is acceptable for banknote paper." Chen Xun pinched the mixed paper in his hand, soaked it in the tea cup next to him, and then tried to tear it. Finally, he found that even when the paper is soaked, its toughness is not as good as very nice.

"Just use it."

"Okay, I will arrange for mass production after I return." Zheng Zhi responded.

"What about anti-counterfeiting? What can you do?" Chen Xun continued to ask.

To issue banknotes, there are many, many problems that need to be faced, and they can only be solved one by one.

"The watermark you mentioned before was invented in the Tang Dynasty. Up to now, there are two mature production methods." Zheng Zhi took out two piles of paper from the bamboo box again and distributed them to everyone: "This The watermark is made using paper with a higher cotton content.”

"This kind of paper-making bamboo curtain is woven with fine threads directly to create a texture pattern, which is raised on the curtain surface. When making paper, the pulp here is thin, and the paper is not visible when it is placed on the table. If it is facing a bright place, , you can see clear texture patterns.”

"This is done by using normal paper and pressing a wooden or other material mold with a textured pattern on both sides of the paper. It will have the same effect."

"There are pros and cons to both approaches."

"The former pattern is produced during the papermaking process. The edges of the pattern lines will be somewhat divergent, and the texture is not as clear as the latter, but the paper quality is not affected."

"The latter pattern is pressed, and the watermark produced is clearer than the former. However, in order to prevent the paper from being damaged during pressing, the paper needs to be soaked first, so the paper strength will be weaker than the original paper."

Chen Xun carefully examined the two sheets of paper against the sunlight, and found that the texture patterns were the same, and the latter was indeed clearer and more distinct than the former.

"In this second type, is there any way to solve the problem of reduced paper strength?" Chen Xun asked.

"Yes, increase the thickness of the paper and place the watermark in the center of the banknote. Even if the strength becomes lower, the impact on the strength of the paper will be very small compared to the thickness you hold in your hands." Increase the thickness of the paper and make paper. Costs will naturally increase.

Placing the watermark in the center limits the design that will be printed on the banknote.

Sure enough, nothing is perfect in this world.

"What do you think?" Chen Xun asked everyone.

"I think the first one is fine. It's much better than Jiaozi on the market." Someone replied.

"It's different. The governor said that the circulation of banknotes will be very large. Private bank accounts have ticket stubs, which can be compared to identify authenticity, but banknotes cannot. I think the second method is better and more secure. "Others disagreed.

"The cost of making paper for three pennies is already very high. If you include the subsequent printing, cutting process, and the cost of the distribution process, you may lose money for one penny banknotes." Someone made a quick calculation in his heart. account.

"It doesn't matter if you lose a penny. Aren't there still large-denomination banknotes of ten or a hundred penny? Generally speaking, you will still make a profit."

"The latter is better and will directly deter those who want to imitate counterfeit banknotes."

……

After some discussion, Chen Xun found that everyone still preferred to use the second watermarking method.

"Okay, let's use the second one." Chen Xun made a decision.

"What about the color printing? Can it be solved?" Chen Xun asked.

"We tried to make a set of copper engraving plates based on the engraving printing method and combined with the woodblock watermarking technique. There are six engraving plates in one set, and six colors can be printed." The person who answered the question this time was Liu Yu. He took out two small paintings the size of a palm.

Both paintings have two colors that look exactly the same to the naked eye.

However, with Chen Xun's eyesight, he could still see the difference, and the borders of the printed patterns were not clear enough, which should be due to the ink.

There is a poem mentioned in the upper right corner of the pattern. The font size of the poem is as big as the tip of the little finger, and it looks quite clear.

Compared with the solutions to the previous problems, this printing disappointed Chen Xun. The quality was much worse than the pirated books of later generations.

However, Chen Xun also knew that this was a limitation of the woodblock printing technique. In addition, the military government did not have the ink that was very suitable for copperplate printing, which resulted in such "inferior" results.

Looking at the expectant eyes of everyone, Chen Xun shook his head: "This is not possible, it is too easy to imitate, we must add micro-sculptures, and the clarity must be improved."

Without micro-engraving, the anti-counterfeiting information cannot be hidden in the pattern, and the anti-counterfeiting effect of banknotes will be greatly reduced.

"This is the limit of human vision. Look at this flower. It is made up of small dots, not continuous strokes." Liu Yu reminded.

Of course Chen Xun saw it, and he also saw many small dots that were all connected together.

"Didn't we develop a magnifying glass? Let the engraving craftsmen carve under the magnifying glass, and they will definitely be able to surpass the limits of the naked eye." Chen Xun reminded.

The day the telescope was developed, it meant that there were no technical barriers to magnifying glasses.

(End of this chapter)