288 MODERN PAPER-MAKING
and he usually knows himself that it is wrong, and marks it with tabs so that
it can be set aside for repulping or special sorting when finished.
The finished paper is finally sorted by layers', who are women of great
experience. These layers throw out defective sheets, which are in their turn
sorted again by 'second layers' into retree and broken, so that finally three
grades are left—namely, good or perfect, retree and broken. These grades are
all fit for sale, but the retree and broken are sold at a lower price, in the same way
as machine-made papers. The reams are made up in various ways—viz.:
1. Mil reams, containing 472 sheets (432 good, with 20 broken sheets
on top and the same number of broken sheets at the bottom of the
ream); this method is now given up by most mills,
2. Insides, 480 sheets, all 'good'.
3. For export, 500 sheets, all 'good'.
4. Retree insides.
5. Retree mill reams.
6. Broken.
It is often said that hand-made papers are expensive. This idea is quite
erroneous when the superlative excellence, strength and durability of the finished
sheet are taken into account. Hand-made papers are actually cheaper than
machine-made papers in comparison, when the conditions of manufacture are
considered.
For instance, a mill with five vats, making about 3 tons of paper per week,
requires 125 employees for the various processes, and burns 25 tons of coal,
60 per cent of which is for drying, some power being obtained from the river.
It takes from two to three months for a sheet of paper to find its way through the
mill, and the various processes entail about one hundred separate handlings.
There are a good many purposes for which hand-made papers are essential,
and for some of these they are actually a good deal cheaper in the long run than
are machine-made papers.
Drawings.—The fine texture and 'tooth' characteristic of hand-made papers
render them essential for the beautiful work of the real artist.
Etchings.—For printing wet or dry, the etcher wants a paper which will
withstand the pressure and yet be sympathetic to the plate, combined with a
lasting quality and purity that are not to be found in machine-made papers.
Money paper and all documents which get a lot of handling have to be printed
on the very best paper obtainable, and the slight extra cost of hand-made makes
the paper much cheaper in the long run. Very intricate lettering and devices
can be put into these papers, and die English hand-made mills make money
paper for banks and Governments all over the world.