Page:Paper and Its Uses.djvu/53

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WRITING PAPERS
41

sized, but as a rule papers which contain no rag fibre are sized in the pulp, that is, engine-sized. The large variety of high-class engine-sized papers now obtainable is at once creditable to the enterprise of the manufacturers, and a sign that papers of this description fulfil the requirements of a large body of consumers.

A good deal of writing paper is used for printing, from which it might be inferred that there is a close resemblance between printings and engine-sized writings. The sizing of writings is harder than that of printings, and the materials used are manipulated to give a firmer handle to the paper, but there is no reason why all writing papers should not be used as printings in work of the character of booklets, magazines without illustrations, and a large part of the jobbing work which keeps to leaflet and pamphlet sizes. The nature of writing papers makes them less absorbent than printings, so that the ink does not sink into the paper quickly. This is desirable in the case of writing, but not in the case of printing, where a fair absorbency aids the rapid drying of printed work.

Drawing papers are made in various qualities. The best kinds for water-colour drawings are made from strong rags, chiefly linen, only boiled to remove dirt and other impurities, and reduced to pulp without the use of bleach or other chemicals. Hand-made papers are the best, being tub-sized, air-dried, and the surfaces—rough, "not" (matt), or hot pressed—obtained by pressure, not by rolling. A few high-class mills are responsible for machine-made drawings similar in furnish and finish to those made by hand. Engine-sized drawing papers are more like cartridge papers, but some of the cheaper varieties resemble thick toned printings. Cartridge papers are made from long-fibred stuff which is only partly bleached. Some cartridges