Volume 2, Number 1
Apr 1989

Latest Count of Companies Converted to Alkaline

The following 16 companies have converted to alkaline papermaking for all their mills, all the paper machines in their mills, and for all (or almost all) their papers--at least all the papers used for printing and writing. This means that the customer is assured of getting acid-free paper if it has the one of one of these companies on the package.

There are a few complications. It takes a while for the old acid stock to get sold off in all the distributors' warehouses, so the should still be tested with a pH pen before purchase, unless (as in the case of Ecusta, Glatfelter, Finch Pruyn, Mohawk and other early converters) it is known to be consistently alkaline by now. Colored paper can be tested with pH indicator strips and distilled water. (A box of 100 strips can be had for $12.40 from University Products, 800-628-1912.)

Another complication is that when one company buys another, the papers of the acquired company may be sold under the name of the parent company, as in the case of Grays Harbor, which makes most of the Hammermill papers that are sold in the West. The acquired company may sell papers under a combination name (their own and the parent company), or just go on as before, or start using the name of the parent company right way. The companies are:

Parsons and Warren are two companies that are still making a few acid grades.