Paper required - the first edition (6)
I believe the answer is:
tissue
'paper' is the definition.
(I know that tissue is a type of paper)
'the first edition' is the wordplay.
'the first' becomes 't' (1st letter of 'the').
'edition' becomes 'issue' (eg edition of a magazine).
't'+'issue'='TISSUE'
'required' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tissue that I've seen before include "Cloth" , "used to make up lies?" , "Paper hankie" , "Jewish religious leader" , "Thin fabric" .)