Paper comes in all different shapes, sizes, thickness and even right down to the malefaction. Paper is measure in caliper, which is a thousandth of an inch paper is most commonly about 0.0028 inches, this is usually lined paper, which is what is used the most.

Publishing paper (book paper) is a rather interesting type of paper because it’s so similar to what you used to, yet so different. The difference is mostly the size and thickness and the color. Book paper is often low-white paper, making the page opaque. It is designed like this for an easy read. Published book paper is usually 60 to 80g/m^2 in weight and have a thickness of about 120 micrometers. Obviously some books vary, older books, that date back to <1900 tend to be thicker and heavier.

Cotton paper is my favorite type of paper it has a sympathetic look and is gentle on the fountain pen. Cotton paper is extremely light and thin, so thin that sometimes it look like it has water stains on it, but it does not. The fantastic thing about cotton paper is that it usually appears in goat leather binds which has an extremely distinctive, light, smell. But this is not always the case. Cotton paper is usually associated with important notes and writings because cotton papers is one of the longest lasting papers out there, lasting more than 100 years. You can check the percentage of the cotton paper material via holding the cotton paper up to a light. There is usually a watermark that will tell you the percentage of cotton in the paper. In this blog entry I am talking about 100% cotton paper, but I may make another entry observing the properties of paper that is not 100%. Cotton paper has a distinct cross fiber patterning and a feel. The feel is smooth and light and yo can observe the fibers by holding the paper up to a light. When cotton papers ages it can begin to break down purely from the amino acids in your sweat. The amino acids react with the chemical properties in the paper (sulfuric acid and sodium) and with age will actually break down the paper. That’s why when you request to read old historic document that you have to wear cotton gloves. Traditional tanning methods of creating cotton paper leaves a yellowish, almost cigarette like stain. Modern methods leaves a strong white color and looks like a small blanket. The modern methods also leave the paper with a stronger bearing strength. Ripping the paper will leave a instinct, irregular rip and will leave fibers erecting away from the page.