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 This print shows the various stages of paper making as was usual in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries as well. In the foreground rags are beaten to pulp in a hammer mill driven by a water wheel. This pulp or fibre sludge is poured into a large wooden tub, clad with lead or copper. The dipper then dips a mould, a wooden frame strung with thin copper wire, into the pulp. This is then softly shaken so that it is spread evenly over the screen and the water can flow away. The coucher places the wet paper on a layer of felt and covers it with another layer. If a pile of some 120 to 130 sheets has been formed, the superfluous water is removed by a press. In the background sheets are hanging out to dry.