The story of handmade paper is the story of civilization itself - carried across continents, refined across centuries, and kept alive today in the workshops of Sanganer, Jaipur.
Before paper, there was papyrus. Made from the sliced pith of the Cyperus papyrus plant - a wetland sedge native to Africa - the ancient Egyptians created the world's first writing surface.
Strips were laid in perpendicular layers, pressed, and dried under the sun.
An empire wrote its laws, its myths, and its love letters on its banks.
When papyrus became scarce, Europe and Asia turned to animal skin.
Parchment - made from goat, sheep, or calf hide through a labour-intensive process of liming, fleshing, bleaching, stretching, and scraping - became the medium of monasteries, legal courts, and royal decrees.
The Codex Gigas, one of the largest medieval manuscripts in existence, was made from the skin of 160 donkeys.
The oldest surviving piece of writing paper was excavated from a tomb at Fangmatan, Gansu Province, China - dating to the Western Han Dynasty.
But it was Cai Lun, an official of the Imperial Chinese court, who is credited with formalising papermaking using bark, hemp, rags, and fishnets. By 740 AD, China had printed the world's first newspaper - on mulberry paper.
Approximately 500 years after China, the craft crossed to Korea and then to Japan through a Korean monk named Don-cho. What Japan did with it transformed papermaking into an art form.
Washi - made from the inner bark fibres of three native plants - became not just a material but a cultural philosophy. Light, strong, luminous, and deeply revered.
After the Battle of Talas, Arab forces defeated the Chinese army and obtained the closely guarded secret of papermaking. The craft spread across the Arab world, and the paper produced there became known as Kagaz - derived from the Urdu word Kavas, meaning paper.
The craftsmen who made it were called Kagzis. The name we carry today.
Handmade paper first arrived in India through Kashmir, introduced from Samarkand by King Zain-ul-Abidin.
When Emperor Babur established Mughal rule in 1526, he brought master papermakers from Bukhara and Balkh.
The craft flourished - becoming a major centre of production and a precious export commodity across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
Handmade paper first arrived in India through Kashmir, introduced from Samarkand by King Zain-ul-Abidin.
When Emperor Babur established Mughal rule in 1526, he brought master papermakers from Bukhara and Balkh.
The craft flourished - becoming a major centre of production and a precious export commodity across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
By the late 19th century, the community faced severe financial hardship, exploited by moneylenders. But history pivoted when Mahatma Gandhi recognised the importance of handmade paper as part of his Swadeshi Movement - buying paper in bulk from Kagzi artisans for his Ashram and associates.
In 1936, an order issued by Mr. B. Chemt John, Resident Commissioner of Rajputana, mandated the use of Sanganeri Kagaz in all governmental legal documents - setting fixed rates and bypassing exploitative middlemen. The official gazette of Jaipur published this on September 15, 1936. The craft was protected. The community survived.
After independence, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) formally included handmade paper in its list of crafts to be promoted.
Founded in Sanganer, Jaipur, Kagzi Industries was established to carry this living tradition into a global marketplace - with innovation, sustainability, and absolute respect for the craft. We are not the beginning of this story. We are its latest, proudest chapter.
Every sheet carries 3,500 years of human ingenuity. Feel it.
THE KAGZI FAMILY, JAIPUR
All our paper is made from 100% recycled cotton textile waste remnants from garment and textile factories. We use no wood pulp. Some specialty papers incorporate khadi fibre, pineapple leaf fibre, or other natural plant-based materials. All input materials are biodegradable and sustainably sourced.
Yes. All our handmade cotton rag paper is acid-free and archival quality - meaning it will not yellow, crack, or degrade over time. Suitable for fine art, legal documents, and anything designed to last.
Our standard range runs from 120 GSM to 250 GSM. Custom weights are available on request for B2B orders. Please include your GSM requirement in your enquiry.
Our standard maximum sheet size is 22 × 30 inches. Custom sizes are available. Please specify your required dimensions in your enquiry form.
A deckle edge is the natural, organic, uneven edge created during the sheet-lifting stage of handmade papermaking. It appears on all four sides of a handmade sheet and is the hallmark of authentic handmade paper. It cannot be replicated by machines. Many of our customers specifically seek it out as a design feature.
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