Volume 2, Number 1
Apr 1989

News

More Conversions

Hammermill. On January 20, the Lock Haven (Pa.) mill of Hammermill converted to alkaline production. It makes 725 tons a day of cut sizes (for office use).

On the night of February 20, the Riverdale mill in Selma (Ala.) completed its conversion and began saleable product. This mill makes 550 tpd of reprographic and printing papers, including Tidal DP and South Shore Offset.

Both mills are getting their calcium carbonate from onsite plants built for then by Pfizer. The Oswego (N.Y.) mill is expected to convert later this year, and then Hammermill will be a 100% alkaline company.

Weyerhaeuser. The Longview mill converted in November 1988, despite what the announcement in the December issue said, and operated for 4 or 5 months with the aid of a portable plant furnished by Pfizer. The permanent PCC plant is now operational. All of Weyerhaeuser's fine paper mills but the one in Plymouth, NC, are now running alkaline.

News About Individual Papers

• Paper Corporation of United States now imports "Masterart," an alkaline coated art paper, from Finland. It is available in roll and sheet-fed, for text and cover, and there is no shortage. To learn merchants carrying Masterart, call the importer at 212/645-5900.
• A non-permanent product that seems to be represented as long-lived is Permalite, from Solvent Coating Corporation. Samples and information sheets were received last August at the Newsletter office, from a personal source. Surface pH measurements with Merck ColorpHast indicator strips and a pHydrion Insta-Chek Surface pH Pencil show the pH to be no higher than 4.0, which means the paper will be short-lived even though it is 100% cotton. (The rule of thumb for minimum pH for long-lived paper is 5.5 or 6.0.) Neither the paper nor the manufacturer (distributor?) is in Walden's or the Grade Finder.
• Mohawk Paper Mills introduced its first electronic imaging paper in January, Premium Laser Text. This is a bright white (95) supercalendered sheet with a pH of 7.5 to 8.0. It will be available in 60 and 70 lb. weights, with opacities of 93 and 94. It can be used for both offset printing and laser printing.

Dard Hunter Museum Closes In Preparation For Move

The Dard Hunter Paper Museum, which is part of the Institute of Paper Chemistry, will go along with IPC when it relocates from Appleton, Wisconsin, to Atlanta, probably in the summer of 1989. The Museum was closed in January 1989. It will be inventoried, boxed archivally and readied for shipment to Atlanta, Georgia, sometime after June 1989. Packing will be undertaken with the assistance of various members of the Friends of the Museum, and a grant from the Institute of Museum Services.

The Museum is not expected to open again till after 1992, when the new building is ready, but the Friends (most of whom are hand papermakers and paper conservators) will remain active. Their next big event will be August 10-14, in Reno, Nevada, where they will have a joint meeting with the International Association of Papermakers and Paper Artists. Papers are presented at these meetings, mostly relating to paper history and hand papermaking around the world (Dard Hunter's main interests), and are later printed in the group's newsletter, with photographs. For information contact Elaine Koretsky at Carriage House Paper, 8 Evans Rd., Brookline, MA 02146.

Three Papers Found to Meet New Government Standard

In 1988, the Government Printing Office lab called the 13 paper manufacturers listed by NISO as able to make paper meeting the ANSI Z39.48-1984 standard ("Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials"), and asked for samples of these papers. Thirteen samples were received--two or three from each of two manufacturers, none from others.

ANSI standard is very easy to meet, because the strength measures are optional. All it really requires is normal alkaline paper, without any groundwood or unbleached pulp. The government's new standard, JCP A270, is based on the ANSI standard, but it makes the strength criteria non-optional: 30 MIT double folds under 1 kgf tension, and 40 gf tear resistance for 50 lb. paper (less for lighter paper, more for heavier). Modern paper is not very strong even when it is new, so only three met the government standard:

30# Nyalite Super Finish (Ecusta)
40# Accent Opaque Smooth (Hammermill)
50# & 70# Cougar Opaque Vellum Finish (Weyerhaeuser)

The Hammermill paper was made by the Grays Harbor Paper Co., which is part owned by Hammermill.

A Distributor Specializing, In Archival Papers

Paper Source Ltd. is a distributor and dealer in special papers for fine arts, graphic arts, book arts and conservation, as well as for businesses and individuals keeping archival records. Most of its papers are acid-free and buffered, and can be expected to last at least 300 years. The results of lab tests, including those for accelerated aging, are available for many of the papers, which come from specialized mills in the Atlantic European countries, selected U.S. mills, and specialized mills and/or papermakers from the Pacific Rim countries.

Paper Source's distribution system includes not only wholesale and quantity distribution but a direct sales store. Another feature is the Paper Museum, which is devoted to the history and technology of paper. There is also a gallery which exhibits works of art on paper, with subjective usage data about particular papers displayed with the art. The owners, Rose Marie and Wallace Dawes, welcome visitors and written inquiries: 1506 W. 12th St., Los Angeles, CA 90015 (213/387-5820).

A New Neutral Sizing System

According to the February PIMA, Albright and Wilson Americas and the General Chemical Corp. have combined to offer papermakers a neutral pH sizing system, Neutrapac^TM. It uses rosin and aluminum to eliminate problems associated with hydrolyzed size at the wet end, such as slippery or limp paper.

Paper can be made at neutral to slightly alkaline pH, up to 7.2-7.5, which will keep the carbonate from dissolving out and prevent pH from fluctuating out of control.