Sheets of parchment or vellum were cut down to the appropriate size. The writing was washed from parchment or vellum using milk and oat bran. Fine calfskin is one of the skins used for vellum and parchment manuscripts. The first books used parchment or vellum (calfskin) for the pages. Vellum is the finest quality of parchment. They were made of cream coloured parchment paper. The more durable parchment and vellum gained favor, despite the cost. Before the advent of paper, papyrus and parchment were used for writing. The scroll is written on 17 sheets of parchment. Most were written on parchment and some on papyrus. He turned away from his computer and began writing on parchment paper instead. The passages are written by a scribe with special ink on parchment scrolls ("klaf"). Musical notation was developed before parchment or paper were used for writing. On uncoated parchment (and paper), silverpoint is particularly light in value. Gospel manuscripts were written in gold lettering on parchment that was colored Tyrian purple.