Paper and Board

• Paper and board are made from pulp. Pulp is a mixture of water and cellulose fibres, that are sourced from wood or certain plant fibres such as flax, hemp or bamboo. Softwoods are commonly used to create wood pulp as the fibres are longer, making stronger paper.
• The main disadvantage of using paper and board is its low resistance to moisture. It will absorb any liquid it comes into contact with, causing it to weaken and potentially disintegrate over time.
• Paper and board have good insulation properties which makes them useful for packaging foodstuffs. They also have excellent printability due to their smooth surface finish. This means they are often used for printing on.
• The Paper Making Process

  
• A life cycle assessment (LCA) considers the whole life cycle of a product from cradle to grave ie. from raw material extraction through to end of life. An LCA enables a manufacturer to calculate the quantities of raw material, energy and waste materials used and their impact on the environment
• Recycling paper and board

  1. Collect used paper and board

  2. Grade and clean to remove inks and contaminants

  3. Wood-pulp fibres can be recycled several times, but eventually they lose their paper making qualities when they become too short
• The amount of paper that is recycled continues to increase, which benefits manufacturing and the environment
• New wood pulp is continually needed for the papermaking process
• Many paper companies now work with responsible forest management to ensure trees are planted to replace those that have been cut down
• If paper is sent to landfill

  It decomposes producing a greenhouse gas called methane
• If paper is recycled


  Less energy is used to make paper from wastepaper, which reduces the CO2 emissions
• Recycling paper and boards reduces the number of trees cut down
• Flyers and leaflets

  • Flyers are single sheet, printed material on a lightweight low-grade paper stock. A bleed proof, gloss paper will produce a clear form of printed matter suitable for promotional material, that will have a short life-span.
  • Leaflets are often folded or tri-folded. they are typically a higher quality print product containing more information that may be kept.
  • Both can be produced on biodegradable and recyclable paper.
• Packaging that has a treatment or coating such as plastic, aluminium or wax is harder to recycle. Due to the cost of separating the materials, it often ends up in landfill.
• Packaging for food

  • Cardboard needs a combination of properties to make it suitable for food-based packaging. It may need to be non-toxic, strong, waterproof, suitable for printing on, or airtight.
  • Card will need to be treated to improve functionality and be waterproof or greaseproof. It will need to be coated with plastics or aluminium to prevent leakage, entry of light and air, or to retain heat.
  • Corrugated card gives added rigidity and helps retain heat so is often used for takeaway pizza boxes. The boxes remain lightweight and can be stacked.
• Paper towel

  • Canbe treated with resins to retain the towel‘s structure when wet
  • Prevents tearing and increases absorbency
• Baking parchment:

  • Pulp is passed through a bath of sulphuric acid
  • Gelatinises the surface, making it non-stick
• White board

  • Stiff board with a wax coating
  • Or laminated with polyethylene
  • Suitable as a container for take-away food
• Stock form is the form in which a product can be bought and stored ready for use. Paper can be supplied in ply, rolls and sheets.
• Ply- layered sheets often in rolls
• Rolls- continuous run, used in print industry for high volume printing such as newspapers or books.
• Sheets- used for office and domestic use, digital printing and art supplies. It can be in a variety of colours.
• Paper


  Measured in grams per square metre (gsm)
• Tissue paper weight range

  • 10-35 gsm
• A4 copy paper


  80 gsm
• Material weight classification


  • Up to and including 200 gsm is paper
  • Over 200 gsm is board
• Board


  Measured by thickness rather than weight, measured in microns
• Micron


  1/1000th of a millimetre
• Corrugated card


  • Produced in sheets from A4-AO, rolls and tubes, and in flat-pack packaging
  • Produced with either a single wall or a double wall for increased rigidity and stiffness
• Cartridge paper


  • Commonly supplied in pads from A5-A2
  • Paper with a weight of 120 gsm is suitable for pencil and charcoal sketching
  • A heavier weight of 200 gsm is suited to watercolour and acrylic painting
• • International Standards Organisation (ISO) set paper sizes.
  • The A series of paper is defined by the ISO 216 standard. It is based on each size being half the size of the previous one, when folded parallel to the shorter length.
  • Copy paper is commonly used in offices and schools at A4 and A3 size, with a weight of between 80-100 gsm.
• Paper sizes:

  
• Paper fasteners, seals and bindings


  These are commonly used components that a manufacturer would purchase rather than making therselves. Use of standard components increases efficiency and can be purchased in bulk to keep costs down Designers should factor in the use of standard components when working on a new product.
• Bindings

  Binding methods are used to hold together larger quantities of paper such as a brochure, book or presentation document.
• Saddle Stitch Binding:

  • Thin books or notebooks
  • Threads or staples bind the paper together
  • Fast and cheap method for mass production
• Section Sewn Binding

  • Printed, folded sheets are sewn together to produce a high-quality and secure form of binding.
  • Used in hardback books
• Perfect Binding:

  • Used for softcover books
  • Pages are folded and glued into the cover sheet to form a spine
• Comb/ spiral binding

  • Binding machine punches holes into side of stack of paper
  • Comb or spiral is fed through the holes
  • Holds the document together
  • Enables the pages to be turned
• Slide binder

  • Durable plastic spine bars
  • Slide over edges of stack of paper
• Fasteners are temporary ways of attaching paper and card together