In the mid-19th century, two developments revolutionized newsprint production: the invention of the Fourdrinier paper machine in the early 1800s, allowed for continuous production of sheets of the paper which drastically brought down its cost. Finally, a machine to produce wood pulp on an industrial scale, invented in 1843, provided an easily obtained and inexpensive raw material to make the paper from, rather than costly cotton or linen rags.
These breakthroughs in technology made large-scale newspaper production economically feasible, enabling a growth in circulation, especially with the emergence of the “penny press”—newspapers sold at a penny a copy, making them affordable to almost everyone.