section_path: Applications/Packaging and industrial uses
section_name: Packaging and industrial uses
paragraph_text: Packaging and industrial uses
  
  It is estimated that paper-based storage solutions captured 0.33% of the total in 1986 and only 0.007% in 2007, even though in absolute terms the world's capacity to store information on paper increased from 8.7 to 19.4 petabytes. It is estimated that in 1986 paper-based postal letters represented less than 0.05% of the world's telecommunication capacity, with sharply decreasing tendency after the massive introduction of digital technologies.
  
  Paper has a major role in the visual arts. It is used by itself to form two- and three-dimensional shapes and collages. It has also evolved to being a structural material used in furniture design. Watercolor paper has a long history of production and use.