how to make paper in Minecraft is one of the easiest and most useful lessons for any player. With only three sugar cane, you can craft paper and unlock important recipes that help with enchantments, exploration, and trading.
Paper is one of those Minecraft resources that initially seems almost useless, but then suddenly starts disappearing from your chest in droves. It’s used to craft books, maps, fireworks, map tables, and flag patterns. You can also sell paper to villagers for emeralds.
Understanding this resource is very simple, as creating it isn’t that difficult. Just read this guide and launch the game again.
What is paper made of in Minecraft?
The main material for papermaking is sugarcane. The question of “what is this item made of” disappears as soon as you reach water. If you’re new to this resource and don’t know where to get it, look for it along the banks of rivers, lakes, and oceans. Sugarcane looks like a tall green stalk and grows near water.
For the first craft you will need:
- 3 units of sugar cane;
- workbench.
That’s it. That’s it, really. No additional tools, ovens, or other materials are required. The main thing to remember is that paper isn’t crafted from sugar, but strictly from stems. While the ignorant “how does she craft” is often heard in newbie chats, experienced players know the basic recipe by heart. Sugar and sugarcane are completely different things. If you try to make sugar first and then figure out what to do next, you could end up with a completely useless production cycle.
How to Make Paper in Minecraft: A Simple Guide for Survival Success
To make paper, collect three units of sugarcane and open the crafting table. Then, place the sugarcane in any horizontal line. This will produce three units of paper.
If you’ve searched for “how to make paper in Minecraft,” remember this diagram. However, many Minecraft players are looking for the correct placement of reeds on the grid. There’s no hidden ingredient or specific order to place resources. You can place three reeds in the top, middle, or bottom row of the crafting table.
Is it possible to make paper without a workbench?
No, a workbench is required for regular crafting. However, you can obtain paper without crafting it yourself; for example, you can find it in some chests or obtain it through trade.
Thus, the material is found in the chests of sunken ships, fortress libraries, and cartographers’ houses in villages. Therefore, sometimes the resource can be extracted even before a cane plantation has been established near the base. In the secret rooms of abandoned libraries, it is sometimes possible to even find a single leaf among dusty shelves.
But relying solely on random supplies isn’t worth it. Paper is needed regularly, so it’s much more convenient to establish a permanent supply.
Who sells and buys paper?
The answer to the question of who sells paper is: no one. You can’t buy paper from villagers. The only thing is that the cartographer can give a piece of paper to a player with the “Village Hero” buff as a gift. However, the game doesn’t prohibit reverse trades, as NPCs are eager to buy the item from the hero for emeralds.
The paper is accepted by residents of certain professions, including the librarian and cartographer. The terms and quantity of items in the transaction depend on the version and the specific resident.
So the question “where to buy paper” usually comes up in the wrong place. If you need sheets of paper, it’s better to craft them from your own reeds. But if you need to turn a huge supply of reeds into emeralds, then it’s worth finding a suitable villager. This becomes especially useful after creating a large farm. Then, a common consumable turns into a stable source of currency for trade.
Where to find sugarcane
The easiest way to obtain the base for papermaking is to head to the nearest body of water. Sugarcane grows naturally near water, and cutting a few stalks of the cane is as easy as pie.
It can be found:
- on the banks of rivers;
- near the lakes;
- on the coast;
- near small bodies of water;
- near villages, if there is a suitable plot nearby.
You can break reeds with your bare hands. You don’t need a pickaxe, axe, or any other tool. Here’s a little trick: if the plant has grown several blocks, break the top part and leave the bottom block. This way, the reeds will continue to grow, and you won’t have to find a new patch every time.
Why do you need paper in Minecraft?
Now comes the most interesting part: what can be made from paper? In everyday play, this resource is primarily used for books, maps, fireworks, map tables, flag patterns, and trading with villagers. I’ll look at each option separately.
Book
One of the first recipes that requires paper is a regular book. For this you’ll need:
- 3 papers;
- 1 leather.
Books are especially important for developing enchantments. Books are used to create bookshelves, which are used to enhance an enchantment table. If you’re planning a full-fledged enchantment room, you’ll need a lot of paper. For example, 15 bookshelves require 45 books. This will require 135 sheets of paper and 45 leather. A single sheet of parchment won’t build a library, so stock up on materials in advance.
The question of “what is paper for?” quickly becomes more than just a theoretical one. You can gather a little reed in the early stages, but as you build an enchanting room, your supply will quickly disappear. Books can also be combined with a quill and an ink sac to create a book and quill. This is useful for recording coordinates of bases, portals, mines, farms, or other important locations.
Map
The second reason to keep paper in your chest is maps. A classic blank map is made from 8 pieces of paper and a compass. The compass is placed in the center, with paper surrounding it on all sides. Therefore, before a big expedition, it’s best to bring a spare. If you’re planning to map a large area, a few stacks of reeds in your chest are always a good idea.
A map is especially useful if you frequently travel far from your base. It helps you navigate familiar territory and gradually maps out the world you’ve explored. But there’s a more convenient way to work with maps: a map table. You can use paper on it to zoom, copy, and perform other operations. This is much more convenient than constantly creating new maps on a workbench.
Fireworks
Paper isn’t just useful for cartographers. It’s used to make fireworks rockets. A typical rocket requires:
- 1 paper;
- 1-3 gunpowder.
The amount of gunpowder affects the rocket’s flight time. Adding a firework star will give the rocket an explosive effect after launch. Rockets without a firework star are typically used for Elytra flights. These rockets provide a boost and don’t explode near the player.
This is where it becomes especially clear why paper crafting is worth automating. During active flights, a stack of rockets can disappear very quickly, meaning a lot of paper and gunpowder will be needed. If you’re just starting out with Elytra, plant a few rows of reeds near your base. It’s much more convenient than trying to remember where you last found a few sheets.
Flags and patterns
Paper is also used to create flag patterns. It’s important to understand: the paper itself isn’t turned directly into a finished flag. It’s used as a base, which is combined with a specific object to create a pattern template. For example, there are patterns featuring a creeper, a flower, a skull, and other variations. The template is then used to apply the design to the flag.
This is especially useful for builders. Flags can be used to mark building entrances, various base rooms, roads, portals, and server territories. So, a piece of paper becomes more than just a consumable, but a way to add a touch of personality to your base.
Map table
You can also make a map table out of paper. For this you’ll need:
- 2 papers;
- 4 boards.
A map table is useful if you regularly work with maps. It allows you to perform operations that are much more convenient on this block. Whether you’re exploring large areas, building a map for your server, or creating multiple identical maps for friends, a map table quickly becomes a useful workbench.
How much paper should you keep in stock?
There’s no exact universal amount. Everything depends on your specific playstyle and the version of Minecraft you’re playing on. For the average gamer, keeping at least one or two stacks in your chest is sufficient. This will be enough for a few books, a map, and a few rockets. If you actively use elytra, enchant, or explore the world, it’s better to increase your supply.
And if you have a sugarcane farm, the problem is self-sustaining. After harvesting, process it into paper—save some for books and maps, and send the rest to rockets or trade. The main thing is not to turn all the sugarcane into paper at once. If your farm is still small, it’s worth saving a few plants for future propagation
