Paper is one of the cheapest things to mass-produce in Minecraft, and two villagers will buy it from you for emeralds. This guide covers exactly which villagers trade paper, which one gives the better rate, and how to turn a sugar cane farm into an emerald machine.
Everything here is confirmed in the current 2026 version of Minecraft (26.3).
Quick answer: both the Cartographer and the Librarian buy paper at their novice level. The Cartographer is the better deal at 11 paper for 1 emerald, while the Librarian gives 1 emerald for 24 paper. Paper is crafted from sugar cane, so it is nearly free to supply.
Paper Trade at a Glance
| Villager | Job block | Paper rate (novice) |
|---|---|---|
| Cartographer | Cartography table | 11 paper for 1 emerald |
| Librarian | Lectern | 24 paper for 1 emerald |
Two Villagers Buy Paper
Paper is a novice buy trade for two professions:
- Cartographer (job block: cartography table) buys 11 paper for 1 emerald. This is the best paper-to-emerald rate in the game, so the Cartographer is the one you want for emerald farming.
- Librarian (job block: lectern) buys 24 paper for 1 emerald. A worse rate, but librarians are worth keeping anyway for their enchanted-book trades.
Because the Cartographer needs less than half the paper per emerald, build a Cartographer if your goal is pure emerald income. Set one up by placing the job block next to an unemployed villager, our Minecraft villager jobs guide covers the full list.
Paper Is Basically Free
Paper is what makes this trade so strong: it is crafted from sugar cane, three sugar cane makes three paper, and sugar cane grows on its own next to water.
A simple automatic sugar cane farm produces paper faster than you can trade it, turning a renewable crop straight into emeralds. See our how to make paper guide for the recipe, and best early-game farms for a sugar cane farm to feed it.
Getting the Paper Trade to Appear
One catch, mostly on Java: a novice villager only gets a random subset of its possible trades, so the paper buy is not guaranteed on the first try. On Bedrock it is more consistent.
On Java, if your Cartographer or Librarian does not offer paper, reroll it by breaking and replacing its job block before you trade, then check again. Once you trade even once, the offers lock in, so reroll first.
For the best deals across every profession, see our best villager trades for emeralds guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both the Cartographer and the Librarian buy paper for emeralds at their novice level. The Cartographer gives 1 emerald for 11 paper, and the Librarian gives 1 emerald for 24 paper.
The Cartographer takes 11 paper per emerald, the best rate in the game. The Librarian takes 24 paper per emerald. Both are novice-level buy trades.
The Cartographer, at 11 paper for 1 emerald, is far better than the Librarian’s 24 paper. Use a Cartographer if you want to farm emeralds with paper.
Craft it from sugar cane, three sugar cane in a row makes three paper. Sugar cane grows next to water, so an automatic sugar cane farm gives you near-endless paper.
A novice villager only gets some of its possible trades at random, so paper may not appear. Reroll by breaking and replacing the job block before trading until the paper trade shows up.
A cartography table makes a Cartographer and a lectern makes a Librarian, both of which buy paper at novice level.
Paper is one of the easiest emerald incomes in the game: grow sugar cane, craft it into paper, and hand it to a Cartographer at 11 per emerald. Pair it with an automatic sugar cane farm and you have a renewable emerald supply for enchanted books, armor, and tools.
