The history of bleaching fabrics is detailed, from ancient Roman methods to the use of Javelle water. Bleaching in the mid-18th century involved many labor intensive operations, including crofting, where fabrics were spread out in fields under the sun to whiten. Chemical bleaching was introduced in the second half of the 18th century. In 1786, Alban, a French chemical manufacturer, developed Javelle Lixivium (dephlogisticated marine acid combined with alkali), or Javelle water. In 1799, a process was patented for treating powdered, slaked lime with dephlogisticated marine acid to form bleaching powder or bleaching salt. Other uses for Javelle water included bleaching rags for paper making, and cleaning copper printing plates.