Volume 05, Number 3
Jul 1992

Federal Implementation of Permanent Paper Standards

Reprinted with permission from NAGARA Clearinghouse, Summer 1991, p. 8-10.

The federal government consumes a significant proportion of the nation's paper production. About 2.2 percent of the domestic production of printing and writing paper--one-half million tons--are purchased annually by the government. By law, specifications for government printing and writing papers are set by the General Printing Office's (GPO) congressional oversight committee, the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP). In general, JCP paper specifications are built around those papers that are readily available on the commercial market, and which are the least expensive grade suitable.

The impetus for permanence in paper originally came from commercial publishers and the library community. In Washington, the issue came to the forefront of Congressional attention in 1984 when the Library of Congress requested $11.4 million for a mass deacidification facility. The Library's research showed that such a facility represented the least expensive way to halt the self-destruction of an estimated 25 percent of the books in the Library's collections.

Congress quickly saw that it would be less expensive to print items of lasting importance on alkaline paper than to deacidify them, and so the JCP began looking into the availability of alkaline paper in large quantities. Congress underscored its intent in this matter last year by enacting Public Law 101423, a joint resolution to establish a national policy on permanent papers.

By fortunate coincidence, by the time the acid paper issue began causing widespread concern, the paper industry had realized that new alkaline papermaking processes are no more expensive, and possibly less expensive, than the old acidic processes and that they are kinder to the environment. As a result, the papermaking industry was well on its way to converting to production of alkaline papers before Public Law 101423 came into existence. In fact, it is estimated that within five years, 95 percent of the printing paper GPO purchases will be alkaline.

Public Law 101423 designates two levels of permanence. The first is "acid-free permanent papers" which should be used for "publications of enduring value." The second is "archival quality acid free papers," to be used for "permanently valuable Federal records." The readily available alkaline paper that has now come to dominate the paper supply is generally felt to meet the requirements of the first level. There are now eight JCP paper specifications for this type of paper. The common element in all of them is the specification that the pH value of the paper be not less than 6.5. The language of Public Law 101423 indicates that papers with this first level of permanence should have a life of "several hundred years"--it is believed these alkaline papers, given reasonable care, will meet that requirement.

The second level of permanence is "archival quality acid free papers for permanently valuable Federal records." Currently, there is one JCP specification for archival quality paper--an uncoated permanent paper. The specification, which exceeds the requirements of ANSI standard Z39.48, includes a pH value requirement of not less than 7.5. The specification also requires that the paper include a minimum of 2 percent calcium carbonate. Requirements for folding endurance, tearing strength, and color retention also are included.

In the spring of 1990, GPO and JCP staff developed an extensive plan to increase the use of alkaline paper by the government. As part of the plan, the 1,400 federal depository libraries and the federal publishing agencies were surveyed to determine which kinds of publications they regard as having enduring value. Significantly, the two groups identified the same top 10 categories: legal material, monographs, statistics, journals and periodicals, catalogs and bibliographies, maps and atlases, reports, proceedings, handbooks and manuals, and environmental impact statements.

The plan also requires: definition of the various types of permanent papers, establishment of guidelines for determining whether a forthcoming publication has enduring value, and preparation of an imprint mark to identify publications using permanent papers. All of these plan elements are nearing completion.

Recycled Paper

The government's paper purchases are being concurrently affected by another national issue-recycling. In June 1989, GPO implemented an affirmative program for the procurement of newsprint, printing and writing papers, and paperboard containing recovered materials.

During 1990, 97 percent of GPO's in-house printing needs were covered by paper with recycled content. In contracting for printing jobs over $25,000, papers with recycled content are specified. If a job's bids are determined to be unreasonable as to price, or if no bids are received, the job is resolicited without the recycled paper requirement. Through the end of fiscal 1990, less than 1 percent of term contracts have had to be resolicited. As a result of GPO's success in finding adequate quantifies of recycled papers, last June the JCP added copier paper and forms bond to the recycled paper program. As a result, GPO now operates the most comprehensive government program for the procurement of recycled papers.

Technically, the requirements for recycled papers and for alkaline paper are generally compatible. The GPO believes, however, that it is critical to clearly specify the minimum requirements for such paper--that it be free of groundwood, that it have a pH of 6.5 or higher, and that it be strong enough to withstand 30 MIT folds--and to monitor such paper's quality through a routine testing program. Additionally, for the archival quality acid free papers, the GPO feels that recycled content should be limited to preconsumer or post-industrial types of waste. GPO's experience has shown that these requirements for recovered materials content have only a very minor effect on its ability to purchase alkaline paper.

In conclusion, it is accurate to say that exceptional progress has been made in implementing the provisions of Public Law 101423. It should be added, however, that much of the speed with which alkaline paper has come to be the rule rather than the exception is due to the paper industry's discovery of the economic benefits of alkaline paper production processes.