Though much smaller than paper-making machines now used in many Canadian centres, this machine operated in essentially the same manner. The rag pulp poured from its flat vat onto an endless mesh belt serving the same water-removal purpose as the wire covering of the hand mould; there is a drain beneath for the excess water. The paper passed through wet-pressing rolls, which squeezed out the remaining water, dry-pressing rolls, and finally heated drying rolls, from which it went onto a solid core as a roll of paper or "web". The machine could also have at its wet end a "dandy roll", which would emboss into the paper a watermark and the traditional pattern of chain and wire lines to imitate the effect of the old hand mould.
Courtesy: Oxford University Press and Dr. Philip Gaskell
