How did people print with a printing press in the 17th century
Creating paper
It was work intensive because, first, you had to make your paper on which you wanted to print something.
Now people use old paper for that. But people used to do it with worn cotton clothes. It had to be soaked and pulled apart and chopped into pieces.
Then you put this mixture mixed with water through a sieve to remove any hard pieces.
What remained was scooped up and spread nicely smooth on a planklaid and left to dry.