Paper is a small item with a lot of uses. You need it for books, maps, firework rockets, banner patterns and, since 2026, craftable name tags. Paper is also one of the best trading items for villagers, because librarians and cartographers buy it for emeralds. Luckily, making paper in Minecraft is easy once you find sugar cane. This guide explains how to make paper, where to find sugar cane, how to farm it automatically, and everything you can do with paper.
Quick answer: how to make paper in Minecraft
- Collect 3 sugar cane.
- Open a crafting table.
- Place the 3 sugar cane in a horizontal row across the middle row of the grid.
- Take the 3 paper from the output slot.
Every three sugar cane make three paper. The recipe is the same on Java, Bedrock and every console.
Where to find sugar cane
Sugar cane grows next to water on grass, dirt, sand, red sand, mud and moss blocks. Look along the edges of rivers, lakes, beaches and swamps, especially in warm biomes such as deserts, savannas, jungles and plains near water. It appears as tall, pale green stalks up to three or four blocks high. Break the stalks above the bottom block and leave the bottom block in place so it regrows. Collect the drops, which are sugar cane items you can replant.
How to grow sugar cane
Plant sugar cane on a suitable block that is directly next to water, either on the side of a river or next to a single water source block you place yourself. It grows one block at a time up to three blocks tall, and it grows faster in loaded chunks near you. Bone meal works on sugar cane on Bedrock Edition but not on Java Edition. Always harvest from the second block up so the root stays and keeps growing.
How to build a sugar cane farm
Simple manual farm
Dig long trenches one block wide, fill them with water, and plant sugar cane on both sides. A row of 20 water blocks with cane on each side gives 40 plants. Harvest by walking along the rows and breaking the second block of every stalk.
Automatic farm with observers and pistons
Place a row of sugar cane next to water. Behind each plant, at the height of the second block, place a piston facing the cane, and above it an observer watching the cane’s growth. When a stalk grows to two blocks, the observer fires, the piston extends and breaks the top piece. Collect the drops with a hopper minecart running under the farm, or with water streams flowing into hoppers and chests. This kind of farm runs forever while you are nearby and gives a steady paper supply. See how to make an observer and how to make a piston.
What paper is used for
- Books: three paper and one leather make a book. See how to make a book.
- Maps: eight paper around a compass make an empty map. See how to make a map.
- Firework rockets: paper plus gunpowder makes rockets for elytra flight. See how to make fireworks.
- Name tags: since 26.1 Tiny Takeover, one paper and one metal nugget craft a name tag. See how to make a name tag.
- Banner patterns and cartography: paper is used at cartography tables to expand and copy maps.
- Trading: librarian and cartographer villagers buy paper for emeralds.
Trading paper for emeralds
Paper is one of the easiest ways to earn emeralds early in the game. Novice librarian and cartographer villagers often offer to buy around 24 paper for one emerald. With a sugar cane farm, you can trade paper all day for a steady emerald income, then spend those emeralds on enchanted books, maps and tools. Trading also levels up villagers, unlocking better offers. See how to breed villagers to grow a trading hall.
Other ways to get paper
- Loot chests: paper appears in village cartographer houses, shipwrecks, stronghold libraries and ancient cities.
- Fishing: paper is not a fishing item, but books and enchanted books can be caught as treasure.
- Breaking books: you cannot turn books back into paper, so keep extra paper before crafting.
Common mistakes
- Breaking the bottom block of sugar cane, which kills the plant.
- Planting sugar cane away from water; it must touch water at the base.
- Expecting bone meal to work on Java; it only works on Bedrock.
- Crafting all your sugar cane into sugar by accident; one sugar cane makes one sugar in the inventory grid, while paper needs the crafting table row.
Paper FAQ
How do you make paper in Minecraft?
Place three sugar cane in a horizontal row on a crafting table to get three paper.
How do you get paper in Minecraft without sugar cane?
Only from loot chests. Sugar cane is the only crafting source.
Can you make paper from wood?
No. Unlike real life, Minecraft paper only comes from sugar cane.
How many paper do you need for a map?
Eight paper and one compass.
Is the paper recipe the same on Bedrock?
Yes, it is identical on every edition.
How much sugar cane do you need?
Planning ahead saves trips back to the river. A single book needs three paper, so three sugar cane plus leather. A bookshelf needs three books, which is nine paper. An enchanting setup with fifteen bookshelves therefore needs 135 paper, or 135 sugar cane, plus 45 leather. A map needs eight paper, and expanding it at a cartography table to the largest size uses four more sheets. Firework rockets need one paper for every three rockets crafted with one gunpowder, so a stack of 64 rockets uses about 22 paper. If you plan to fly with elytra, enchant a full room or trade with librarians, a sugar cane farm of at least 40 plants is worth building early.
Sugar cane vs sugar
Sugar cane has two main uses: paper and sugar. One sugar cane crafts into one sugar in any crafting grid, and sugar is used for cakes, pumpkin pie, fermented spider eyes and speed potions. If you need both, split your harvest. Honey bottles can also make sugar, three sugar per bottle, which is useful if you run a bee farm and want to save your cane for paper. See how to get sugar.
Java vs Bedrock differences
The paper recipe is identical everywhere. The main difference is growing sugar cane: on Bedrock, bone meal makes sugar cane grow instantly, which lets you farm paper very quickly by hand, while on Java bone meal has no effect on sugar cane. Automatic farm designs also differ slightly because of redstone and hopper behavior, so follow a farm tutorial made for your edition.
Tips for a paper-rich world
- Plant sugar cane along every river near your base as soon as you find it.
- Keep a stack of paper in your storage at all times for maps and books.
- Use cartography tables to clone maps instead of making new ones from scratch.
- Combine paper trading with a sugar cane farm for an early emerald income.
With a small farm and a crafting table, you will never run short of paper for books, maps, rockets or emerald trades.
Next, learn how to make a bookshelf to power your enchanting table.