One of those times where a scientist or a technical subject expert came up with a name that perfectly made sense to them, and to be fair, is an accurate technical description - but made life difficult for laymen and other industry professionals.
So when you hear woodfree paper, what do you make of it ?
You would be and should be excused for thinking "woodfree" implies paper that's made from something other than wood.
But "woodfree" actually even more specifically implies paper that's made from wood.
So what does "woodfree" actually mean ?
Basically wood contains a complex chemical compound called Lignin. It gives trees rigidity and makes them resistant to water and degradation. Lignin also locks water within cell walls and provides a path for water transport within the plant.
Lignin is great for the trees then -- but, not so much for paper.
In paper, lignin causes yellowing over time, weakening of the paper structure and an overall rough surface, that doesn't lend the paper well to printing with inks.
So for most applications we really we don't want lignin in paper.
Chemical pulping processes take care of this and reduce the lignin content in wood chips and pulp to negligible levels.
What then should have been called 'Lignin-free' paper, actually came to be known as 'wood-free' paper. Why ? Because someone thought seeing as lignin is 30% of the mass of wood, and is synonymous with wood, let's call it wood-free paper.
As we stand today in the paper industry - woodfree essentially refers to paper that has been made from chemical pulping processes.
As opposed to mechanical pulping processes that still leave significant qty of lignin behind and lend the paper to various age defects over time. These papers go into applications such as newsprint where it is not particularly important to contain ageing defects in paper over time.
Woodfree paper is essential for longevity, preserving important documents / art over time, smooth surface, better absorption of color inks.
Get in touch to discuss all this and more if you are keen on developing your own private label of any paper product - notebooks, journals, diaries.
As a leading stationery supplier and exporter in India, we are more than happy to engage with you on your private label product development journey.
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