| Type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | paper |
| Founded | 1584 |
| Headquarters | Dassel |
| Key people |
|
| Operating income | 21.2 Million. EUR (2008) |
| Employees | 138 (12/1/08) |
Hahnemühle FineArt, Inc. is a paper manufacturing company in the Relliehausen district of Dassel, Germany. It is the world's leading producer of coated papers for ink jet printing. Other products include artist papers for traditional painting techniques and filter paper for industry and research.
The company traces its origins to the construction of a paper mill by Merton Speiss on February 27, 1584 in Relliehausen at the source of a river in the Solling (a range of hills). The filtration effect from the Solling's sandstone had a softening effect on the pure spring water leading to paper of exceptional quality. This is but one of many such paper mills known to have existed in the vicinity of Dassel between the Weser and the Leine rivers, but it is the only one to have survived over the centuries.
On August 30, 1769, the Speiss family sold the mill to Peter Johann Jacob Heinrich Andrae from Osterode for 4500 Reichsthaler. Andrae suffered a early death, and the mill passed to his son. On August 13, 1884 Oskar Andrae sold the firm to H. J. Heinemann of Hannover who immediately began the construction of a new production facility. Unforeseen difficulties and costs forced Heinemann to give up the factory, and it was sold in 1886 to Carl Hahne and has continued under the Hahne family name to the present day.
During the Second World War, the company created paper for the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt's efforts to produce counterfeit British banknotes as part of Operation Bernhard.
Today, the firm employs approximately 130 employes worldwide in the production of paper for painters, graphic artists, illustrators, bookbinders, photographers, and printers and for the production of specialty papers in industrial applications (such as filter membranes for chemical and biological analysis). The paper factory is especially known for its high quality artist papers for painting and printmaking.
Hahnemühle is the inventor of Fine Art InkJet Paper with a special ink-receiving layer surface treatment suitable for today's UV inkjet printers. This is particularly suitable for high-quality photography, computer art, and painting and photo reproductions.