Predicting Printing Paper Life Expectancy, 1998 Process & Product Quality Conference Proceedings

Printing and writing papers produced since the early-1900’s have predominantly been made with sizing material that is acidic. The result has been continual paper degradation due to acid hydrolysis of the cellulose. Some papers have become so brittle they can no longer be handled without crumbling. This condition has caused great difficulty for those who wish to keep documents for extended periods. Those most directly affected have been the library and archive communities, but the issue is important to other groups as well.

Today, most printing and writing papers are made under alkaline conditions and contain an alkaline reserve to preferentially react with acids such as pollutant gases that might affect the papers. This has largely solved the degradation problem. However, because we lack scientifically sound methods to test freshly made paper for prediction of its life expectancy, there is still concern about which papers are safe to save and which are likely to develop problems.

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and its Institute for Standards Research (ISR) is currently engaged in a multi-year program to create the needed test methods. A $3.8 million research effort is underway with financial support from thirty organizations to undertake the needed studies. Five research laboratories are working to expand understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of paper aging and to develop accelerated aging test methods that correlate well with natural aging results. The test methods will deal with temperature, light and atmospheric pollutants as the means to accelerate aging. This paper deals with the specific criteria for the studies and with their expected outcomes.