Volume 8, Number 3
Oct 1995

Editor's Page

A Thank-You to Supporters

The editor and trustees of Abbey Publications, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, want to express our appreciation for support received from the people and organizations listed below, as well as from those who gave smaller amounts.

All donations are considered to be intended for Abbey Publications (thus contributing to the Abbey Newsletter, the Alkaline Paper Advocate and other publications and products of this office). In the last 12 months, donations from readers have totaled $8050.

A Trustees' Fund was set up in December 1993 to receive donations from Abbey Publications' trustees. As of October 24, 1995, it had $2350 in it. This brings the total of donations for the last 12 months to $10,400.

Donors are listed below as Benefactors ($1000+), Sponsors ($500+), Patrons ($100+), and Contributors ($25+).

Benefactors

Cross Pointe Paper Corp., Miami Mill
Barbara Lubin Goldsmith Foundation
Gaylord Bros.

Sponsors

Bridgeport National Bindery

Patrons

Acme Bookbinding
Benchmark
Campbell-Logan Bindery
Margaret Child
Custom Manufacturing, Inc.
Paula DeStefano
Disaster Recovery Services
Information Conservation Inc.
Ingrid Rose Co. Ltd.
Elizabeth Morse
National Institute for Conservation
New York Community Trust - James Talcott Fund
Ocker & Trapp Library Bindery
Marc D. Reeves
Restoration Source
Elaine R. Schlefer
Marshall Swartzburg
Susan G. Swartburg
William Minter Bookbinding

Contributors

John P. Baker
Nelly Balloffet
Tim Barrett
Sidney Berger
Michèle Cloonan
Lisa Cziffra
Jane Dalrymple-Hollo
James Dast
Betsy Palmer Eldridge
Evelyn Frangakis
William Fuller
Carolyn Jane Gammon
Mary Todd Glaser
Maria Grandinette
Pat Grey
Heugh-Edmondson Conservation
Fred Jordan
Hilary A. Kaplan
Erich J. Kesse
Mary Wood Lee
Jeanne Lewisohn
Jan Merrill-Oldham, in memory of Carolyn Harris
Robert Milevski
Museum Services
Tawny Ryan Nelb
Terry O. Norris
Sandra Nyberg
Brian E. O'Connell
Elissa O'Loughlin
Abigail Quandt
Jeff Rigby
Ruth-Ann Rohman
Eric C. Shoaf
Norma Spector
James G. Stephens
Mary Ann Tyrrell
Utah (state)
Duane Watson
Wei T'o Associates
Marylyn Weidner
John C. Wright
Marie-Daniele Zartman
Two anonymous contributors

Correction

Hammermill Papers did NOT acquire Old Colony Envelope, as announced on the front page of the last issue. Hammermill is a division of International Paper, not an independent company.

Old Colony used to be a division of IP like Hammermill; it was bought by National Envelope Corporation, the largest privately owned manufacturer of envelopes servicing the fine paper merchant industry. Old Colony Envelopes has been a leader in development of the broadest millbranded product lines in the industry, converting various grades of rag/cotton content and text papers into correspondence and announcement envelopes

North American Permanent Papers 1995 Names 423 Printing/Writing Papers

Abbey Publications has revised and enlarged its 1994 list of North American papers that qualify as permanent by the U.S. standard, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992, "Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries andArchives." Twenty percent more mills responded to the survey in 1995 than in 1994, and the list of papers for 1995 is 10% longer than last year, although it was kept as short as possible by combining similar entries and weeding out doubtful entries.

Of the 423 papers in the list, 235 (55%) contain recycled fiber. Eight percent of the papers are 100% recycled; many contain 20% postconsumer waste. This confirms the conclusion based on last year's results, that recycled paper can also be long-lived.

The ANSI/NISO standard has four requirements: pH 7.5 to 10.0 for uncoated paper and 7.0 to 10.0 for the core paper in coated stock; a 2% alkaline reserve (calcium carbonate); tear index of 5.25 mNm²/g for uncoated paper and 3.50 mNm²/g for coated paper; and kappa number (a measure of lignin content) no greater than 7. Since the great majority of printing and writing mills today make their paper in the alkaline range so that they can use calcium carbonate as a filler, many papers meet the first two requirements. (Some usually alkaline papers, however, are occasionally made at an acid pH; these had to be excluded.) Several mills volunteered that their papers did not meet the tear resistance requirement. Other mills or companies reported that their papers did not comply with the kappa number requirement.

Since the 1994 edition was published, there have been many changes with the paper mills or companies. One (Noranda) no longer makes printing and writing papers; Canadian Pacific changed its name to Avenor; Stora Newton Falls has been bought by Appleton; and James River spun off a number of its mills into a new company named Crown Vantage, which will be making most of the P/W papers formerly made by James River.

This year, the papers are listed only by company and type or use of the paper. The brand name list has been dropped. There is a new page on the topic of papers that can be safely used to store photographic materials, and on the Photographic Activity Test, which identifies the safe papers. This new page was added because many people use the list to find papers for their photo albums or books of mementos, not realizing that even a permanent paper may damage the color photographs or historic images stored next to it because of the high pH or the carryover of papermaking chemicals to which these photographs are sensitive. (Modern black and white photographs, however, are probably safe with any permanent paper; no report has been received to the contrary.)

The introduction and the sections on "The Nature of Permanence" and "Standards and Testing" have been extensively rewritten and updated. New sections have been added on recycled paper and the ISR research project on paper permanence, both compiled from back issues of the Alkaline Paper Advocate. There is a page explaining how the papers are listed, which should be helpful. The section on the U.S. permanent paper law, P.L. 101-423, remains virtually unchanged, as does W.K. Wilson's history of the development of permanent record papers.

The report is available for $19.50 postpaid (check or money order) from Abbey Publications (7105 Geneva Dr., Austin, TX 78723, tel. 512/929-3992, fax 929-3995): North American Permanent Papers, 1995. Soft cover, wire binding. vi + 52 pp. ISBN 0-9622071-3-6.

The Alkaline Paper Advocate is issued quarterly, and has about 400 subscribers. (Before 1995, it was issued six times a year.) Subscriptions (which include a free pH pen and a list of Useful Addresses) are on a calendar year basis: All start with the first issue of the year, unless otherwise requested, and end on Dec. 31, or after the last issue of the year has appeared. An index for the previous year is sent out in the first quarter. Individual subscriptions are $35; full-time students $20; institutions $45. All issues are in print and indexed. Checks should be made out to Abbey Publications, 7105 Geneva Dr., Austin, TX 78723. Visa/MasterCard payments are convenient for payments from abroad, but for domestic payments we prefer checks drawn on a U.S. bank. We can send an invoice on request.

Abbey Publications is a nonprofit corporation set up to encourage preservation of written records, including the use of lasting materials in their creation. No paid advertisements are accepted, but anything with news value will be printed if there is room for it. News items and information may be sent or called in at any time. Readers are encouraged to copy or circulate issues and parts of issues, and to reprint unsigned articles and news items; but the Editor's permission must be obtained for making more than 20 copies of lengthy or signed articles. This allows us to consult with the author (who may hold copyright), make any necessary corrections or updates before duplication, and confirm that the copies are being made for purposes not inconsistent with the nonprofit mission of Abbey Publications.

Indexed selectively in the Abstract Bulletin of the IPST, Paperbase Abstracts (PIRA International), Art & Archaeology Technical Abstracts, and Engineering Information's Table of Contents.