Non Wood Paper

[Ole Juul]

I've been a student of paper technology for many years now. Paper, indeed fiber in general, is of the utmost importance to the development of civilization. There is more to say about paper, and paper history, than one can write in a single book, so this forum post is barely a tiny taste. It is really just my ramblings, but I hope it will inspire someone to consider their papers in more depth.

Outside of the art world, it seems that wood is taken for granted as the basic furnish for paper that we use. There is the exception of papers for legal documents commonly available which are usually specified as 25% cotton, Otherwise it is slim pickings nowadays, especially with the tendency of consolidation of companies and simplification of retail markets. Many paper suppliers won't even sell to the public any more. In any case, modern wood based papers are actually often of quite a good quality and many are genuinely acid free and not just buffered to prevent yellowing.

So why would you want a paper made from other materials anyway? Well there is the question of fiber length which generally equates to strength. That is the reason for the 25% cotton content of document papers, and why bank notes are traditionally all cotton. But there are many other qualities of a paper one can look at besides strength. Longevity is a major concern for some people. Non wood fibers have less lignin, a component of fibers which weakens the paper and is responsible for yellowing.

I grew up with newspapers that yellowed in a week and became brittle in a year or two. I also am witness to the pulpy and rapidly deteriorating books from the turn of the last century. I've just had enough experience with the worst of wood based papers for it to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Of course this is just me, and like I said, modern wood papers are generally good, and sometimes even excellent. I look at papers more from an aesthetic point of view. That is, I see different aspects in terms of how I like them. There are a lot of things one can learn about a paper. There is of course, the look, color, and surfacing. But there is also the physical feel of the paper - how it bends and folds, is it soft or hard etc. I also consider the operation and history of the mill that made the paper. I notice fountain pen people do this with pen and ink. I suggest doing the same with paper. Crane & Company paper is an old mill that has always made paper for currency printing and actually made the paper for America's first paper money. The client in that case was Paul Revere! Paper mills often have deep history and there are interesting companies all over the world.

The method of manufacture is less varied nowadays. Writing and printing paper being all made on various sizes of Fourdrinier machines. However, the furnish can vary considerably. The furnish comprises the various types of fiber (pulp), dyes, filler, and sizing. We rarely get rag papers any more as there is not a good nor sufficient source. Gone are the days when a paper manufacturer would source rags from poor countries where there was no use of bleach for washing, so that they could get the ultimate fiber strength for the highest quality paper.

Paper comes off the dry end of a Fourdrinier onto large rolls. In many cases the rolls are so large and heavy that they would flatten you like an ant if the were to roll onto you. This is a totally unwieldy form, so the paper goes from there to the converters. A converter is a company (or perhaps department nowadays) who takes bulk paper and cuts it into sizes suitable for the market.

One of my favorite papers is mulberry. I got large handmade sheets some years back, but unfortunately I've not found any commercial mulberry paper for writing. It's wonderfully soft and feels like no other paper I've seen. I've also collected linen papers in the past, but I have not been able to find any in the current market.

There are many other interesting fibers, and we see a few sometimes. Sometimes, like often with bagasse, they're just used as filler. The contemporary market, as I see it for writing paper, is pretty much cotton and linen, with an emerging use of hemp. Actually hemp is one of the oldest fibers for paper and has long fibers and low lignin content, and is very strong. There is much to say about the value of hemp.

Currently, my personal needs are almost all for simple cut paper for writing and copying. For the latter I have no issue using regular wood papers. They are more than sufficient. However, for pen and ink, I really like something with deeper meaning to me - might I say "class", (as defined by me for myself). To that end I have found several 100% cotton papers, and two 75%cotton/25%linen papers which I can get on Amazon. I'll list them in the next post.

Here are some links to whet your appetite for paper technology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_(...s_to_wood_pulp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_paper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_paper