September 1998 Volume 20 Number 3

Publications

North American Permanent Papers

3rd ed. E. McCrady, ed. June 1998. 60 pp. ISBN 0-9622071-4-4. $19.50 plus postage, from Abbey Publications.

In 1988, when I realized that the U.S. paper industry was starting a massive conversion to alkaline papermaking, I knew this historic event had to be reported to the librarians, bookbinders and others who had been agitating for it so long.

I knew I didn't have time for this project, but I soon saw that no one else would do it, so I started a newsletter in January 1988 to cover developments. Now the great majority of mills make alkaline paper, and the project is nearly over. The last issue of the Alkaline Paper Advocate will soon appear. And we published the final edition of North American Permanent Papers a month or so ago.

I estimate that there are about 1100 printing and writing papers (give or take a few hundred) made in the U.S. and Canada. This doesn't count groundwood papers, varieties of a single brand (e.g., weights, colors or finishes), or private brands (papers made to order).

We surveyed all the mills that make significant amounts of printing & writing paper and found about 450 papers on the market that meet the permanence requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Most of these are listed in the main part of the book, by use (e.g., office copying) and by company. Telephone numbers are provided for the sales/marketing department for each of the 33 paper companies that responded.

We added a new section this time where manufacturers describe their archival products that are special in some way. Some were market grades, some were private grades, some were merely a type of paper the mill could make to order. The products are of seven types:

• archival board
  
• watermarked copy paper for dissertations
  
• paper or board for safe storage of photographs (i.e., that pass the P.A.T.)
  
• dark or bright-colored permanent paper or board
  
• handmade and artists' papers
  
• buffered groundwood for journals and magazines
  
• archival paper or board the company can make on request.

Six background chapters follow the lists of papers.

Ellen McCrady, Editor
Abbey Publications
7105 Geneva Dr., Austin, TX 78723
512-929-3992, Fax: 512-929-3995
e-mail: abbeypub@flash.net