# Printing and writing paper

Printing and writing papers are paper grades used for newspapers, magazines, catalogs, books, notebooks, commercial printing, business forms, stationeries, copying and digital printing. About 1/3 of the total pulp and paper marked (in 2000) is printing and writing papers. The pulp or fibers used in printing and writing papers are extracted from wood using a chemical or mechanical process.

## Paper standards

The most common paper size in office use is US letter in the US, and A4 where the ISO paper series are in use. A4 ("metric") paper is easier to obtain in the US than US letter can be had elsewhere..
The ISO 216:2007 is the current international standard for paper sizes, including writing papers and some types of printing papers. This standard describes the paper sizes under what the ISO calls the A, B, and C series formats.
Not all countries follow ISO 216. North America, for instance, uses certain terms to describe paper sizes, such as Letter, Legal, Junior Legal, and Ledger or Tabloid.
US Paper Sizes :
| Size | Width x Height (mm) | Width x Height (in) | Aspect Ratio |
| Half Letter | 140 x 216 | 5.5 x 8.5 | 1:1.5455 |
| Letter | 216 x 279 | 8.5 x 11.0 | 1:1.2941 |
| Legal | 216 x 356 | 8.5 x 14.0 | 1:1.6471 |
| Junior Legal | 127 x 203 | 5.0 x 8.0 | 1:1.6000 |
| Ledger/Tabloid | 279 x 432 | 11.0 x 17.0 | 1:1.5455 |
Most types of printing papers also do not follow ISO standards but have features that conform with leading industry standards. These include, among others, ink adhesion, light sensitivity, waterproofing, compatibility with thermal or PSA overlaminate, and glossy or matte finish.
Additionally, the American National Standards Institute or ANSI also defined a series of paper sizes, with size A being the smallest and E the largest. These paper sizes have aspect ratios 1:1.2941 and 1:1.5455.
ANSI Standard Paper Sizes :
| ANSI Paper Size | Width x Height (mm) | Width x Height (in) | Aspect Ratio | Closest ISO Size |
| A | 216 x 279 | 8.5 x 11.0 | 1:1.2941 | A4 |
| B | 279 x 432 | 11.0 x 17.0 | 1:1.5455 | A3 |
| C | 432 x 559 | 17.0 x 22.0 | 1:1.2941 | A2 |
| D | 559 x 864 | 22.0 x 34.0 | 1:1.5455 | A1 |
| E | 864 x 1118 | 34.0 x 44.0 | 1:1.2941 | A0 |

### Vietnam

| Specifications | MD/CD | Unit | Level A | Level B | Method |
| Substance | | gsm | 80-120 | 60-80 | TCVN 1270:2000 |
| Durable ≥ | | mN.m$^2$/g | | | TCVN 3229:2000 |
| | MD | | 5.7 | 4.1 | |
| | CD | | | | |
| Tearing strength ≥ | | m | | | TCVN 1862:2000 |
| | MD | | 3800 | 3200 | |
| | CD | | 2200 | 1800 | |
| Water absortiveness Cobb 60 | | g/m$^2$ | 23 | 23 | TCVN 6726:2000 |
| Brightness ISO ≥ | | % | 78 | 70 | TCVN 1865:2000 |
| Opacity ≥ | | % | 85 | 85 | TCVN 6728:2000 |
| Roughness Bendtsen ≥ | | ml/ minute | 280 | 400 | TCVN 3226:2001 |
| Ash content ≥ | | % | 3 | 3 | TCVN 1864:2001 |
| Moisture content | | % | 7±1 | 7±1 | TCVN 1867:2001 |

## Types

* Fine paper
* Machine finished coated paper
* Newsprint
* Bond paper

## History

The history of paper is often attributed to the Han dynasty (25-220 AD) when Cai Lun, a Chinese court official and inventor, made paper sheets using the “bark of trees, remnants of hemp, rags of cloth, and fishing nets.” Cai Lun's method of papermaking received praise during his time for offering a more convenient alternative to writing on silk or bamboo tablets, which were the traditional materials in ancient Chinese writing.
On the other hand, archeological evidence supports that the ancient Chinese military had used paper over a hundred years before Cai Lun's contribution and that maps from early 2nd century BCE were also made with paper. With this, it appears that what Cai Lun accomplished is not an invention but an improvement in the papermaking process. Today, even with the presence of modern tools and machines for papermaking, most processes still involve the traditional steps that Cai Lun employed, namely the process of soaking felted fiber sheets in water, draining the water, and then drying the fiber into thin sheets.
In 1690, the first paper mill in America was established by William Rittenhouse. The mill became the largest manufacturer of paper in America for over a hundred years until other paper mills sprang up, including the paper mill by William Bradford which supplied paper to the New York Gazette.