Paper - More than Meets the Eye

We are surrounded by so much paper and card that it is easy to forget just how complex it is. There are many varieties and grades of paper materials, and whilst it is fairly easy to spot the varieties, it is far more difficult to spot the grades.

It needs to be understood that most paper and card is manufactured for a specific purpose, so that whilst the corn-flake packet may look smart it is clearly not something destined for the archives. It is made to look good, but only needs a limited life span. It is also much cheaper to manufacture than high grade card.

Paper can be made from an almost endless variety of cellulose based material which will include many woods, cottons and grasses or which papyrus is an example and from where we get the word 'paper'. Many of these are very specialized, but the preponderance of paper making has been from soft wood and cotton or rags, with the bulk being wood based.

Paper from Wood.

In order to make wood into paper it needs to be broken down into fine strands. Firstly by powerful machinery and then boiled with strong alkalies such as caustic soda, until a fine pulp of cellulose fibres is produced. It is from this pulp that the final product is made, relying on the bonding together of the cellulose into layers. That, in a very small nutshell, is the essence of paper making from wood. However, the reality is rather more complicated. In order to give us our white paper and card the makers will add bleach and other materials such as china clay and additional chemicals.

An further problem with wood is that it contains a material that is not cellulose. Something called Lignin. This is essential for the tree since it holds the cellulose fibres together, but if it is incorporated into the manufactured paper it presents archivists with a problem. Lignin eventually breaks down and releases acid products into the paper. This will weaken the bond between the cellulose fibres and the paper will become brittle and look rather brown and careworn. We have all seen this in old newspapers and cheap paperback books. It has been estimated that most paper back books will have a life of not greater than fifty years. Not what we need for our archives.

Since the lignin can be removed from the paper pulp during manufacture the obvious question is 'why is it left in the paper?' The answer lies in the fact that lignin makes up a considerable part of the tree. By leaving the lignin in the pulp a papermaker can increase his paper yield from a tree to some 95%. Removing it means a yield of only 35%. It is clearly uneconomic to remove the lignin for many paper and card applications.

It also means, of course, that lignin free paper is going to be more expensive, but that is nevertheless what the archivist must look for in his supplies. There is no point whatsoever in carefully placing our valuable artifacts in paper or card that is going to hasten their demise. Acid is particularly harmful to photographic materials, causing them to fade and is some cases simply vanish!

So, how do we tell a piece of suitable paper or card from one that is unsuitable? You cannot do it by simply looking, and rather disappointingly, you cannot always rely on the label. 'Acid free' might be true inasmuch as a test on the paper may indicate that it is a neutral material at this time. But lignin can take years before it starts the inevitable process of breaking down, and in the right conditions it will speed up enormously.

Added to this, as I have indicated earlier, paper may also contain other materials added during manufacture such as bleach, china clay, chemical whiteners and size. This looks like a bleak picture, and it would be but for the fact that there are suppliers who will guarantee the material that they sell. If you want to be absolutely sure that you are storing in, or printing on, the correct material then this is probably the only way.

Incidentally, acids can migrate from material to material. Lining old shoe boxes with good quality acid free paper will do little to guard the contents. The acid will get there in the end.

Paper from Rag.

Paper is also commonly made from cotton and rag waste. This has the advantage of being lignin free, but because there is much less cotton and rag than trees, it also tends to be much more expensive than wood pulp paper. You will still need to purchase from a reliable source though, since even rag paper and card can contain undesirable additives.

A reliable source for quality rag papers is a recognised art stockist. Many water colour artists insist on using only fine quality rag paper and board.

The main lesson to learn from this information is that you cannot rely on purchasing archival materials from the high street. The only safe solution is to purchase from specialist suppliers. It may cost rather more, but in the end you will know that your important and valuable data and images have the best home possible.

Copyright © Peter C. Amsden 2005

Peter C. Amsden (amsden@btinternet.com) has many years experience in photography, film and television. An Associate of both The Royal Photographic Society and of the British Institute of Professional Photographers. He had made a special study of conserving and archiving imaging media and is author of "Images for the Future". Runs consultancy and web design business, for more info. see http://www.ASAT.biz

---

What is Dowsing?

Dowsing is definitely an intuitive art and one of the... Read More

Conspiring to Create Our Weather

Some say the weather is totally random and does not... Read More

Mini-Robots, Motherships, Swarm Strategies, Wasps, Ants, Organization and Delivery

Robots are for every one. Tech TV now host Battle... Read More

Theoretically is it Possible to Defy Gravity?

Many believe it is possible to build an anti-gravity machines... Read More

Travertine Information

Travertine is a compacted form of limestone that forms in... Read More

A Tuned Bio-Field and a New Definition of Consciousness: Part 2

Love, pure Love, is the feeling one has when they... Read More

Living In Arizona Boulders--Where Did They Come From?

When most people think of building a secluded home, they... Read More

The Debate About Cloning

There are two types of cloning. One involves harvesting stem... Read More

Welcome to the Eye Science

Thousands of dyslexic students, across the UK, are referred of... Read More

Transfer Technologies and Advances in Future Combat

Transfer Technologies and Advances in Future CombatThe human visual ability... Read More

Mini Robots Grid Meteorite Search

We need very much to study meteorites more, but we... Read More

Cloaking a UAV in Flight

If you will recall the Klingon Space Craft and Warship... Read More

Using Mosquito MEMS to Collect DNA Samples

Soon scientists will have scaled down robotic insects. This is... Read More

Mystical Physicists

INSPIRATIONAL COMMENTS:"There is a principle which is a bar against... Read More

Equipment for the Amateur Astronomer ? Part 1

Binoculars and telescopes and other astronomy equipment and accessories are... Read More

DNA Testing Breaks Down Barriers in the Court Room

DNA testing has three major applications for forensic studies: identification... Read More

Science Fiction by Arthur C Clarke

It is difficult to have a discussion with someone about... Read More

Gerald Hawkins

There is something about the Hawkins clan that I like.... Read More

Why Can?t Our Brain Process What We See Faster?

Many who admire the excellent design of Mother Nature and... Read More

Rodent Populations are Half within 3 miles of a Railroad Track

About a month ago, I was helping a friend collect... Read More

Space Probes Speed Up

Recently scientists were amazed that the space probes now leaving... Read More

New Energy Bill: Reducing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil

The U. S. economy is feeling the brunt of skyrocketing... Read More

Glyco Nutrients & Stem Cell Production

During the speach, Dr. Reg McDaniel talked about first seeing... Read More

Archaeology

When the Egypt Exploration Fund was created they had memoranda... Read More

Aliens

I am being allowed time out to raise a subject... Read More

Electromagnetism, The Universe, And You

An electric current produces a magnetic field. This is the... Read More

Locusts To Help Make Energy From Bio Waste, part III

If we bring the locusts to a feasting area of... Read More

Small Attack Submarines, Which Turn Into Hydrofoils and Fly

We propose single man underwater vehicles (attack submarines), which have... Read More

Tactile Pressure Sensors for Future Robotics

Scientists and Robotic Researchers are attempting to design human type... Read More

Underground Cities, Save the Humans

Perhaps we should design tunneling robots, which can dig out... Read More

Increasing Lightening Storm Intensity and Direction Control of Strikes

Using four UAVs in formation with one C-130 Hercules Aircraft... Read More

A Call for a Worldwide Campaign on Water Conservation

If we are to tackle the challenges of future populations... Read More

Creating Artificial Time in a Vacuum With Pulsed Lasers

Keying off a very interesting concept confined within Static Quantum... Read More