PAPER TESTING 327
Up to within a few years ago—and indeed in some mills to-day—no real
tests were made. The manager simply looked at the paper, rattled it. tore a
corner, and perhaps compared it with some of his stock lines, and then made a
guess at the price at which he could profitably match it. If the customer
thought the price too high, he went elsewhere, or offered less until terms were
mutually agreed upon.
The paper-maker, having no real knowledge of the composition of the
sample, sometimes found his paper returned as unsuitable, or was compelled
to concede a reduction in price in order to get it accepted.
As trade and conditions are ar present, these haphazard methods are useless.
The paper-maker must know exactly the composition of the sample, and he
should also know for what purpose the paper is to be used. He can then quote
a price which, while securing more or less profit for his mill, is still low enough
to stand a fair chance of securing the order against other competitors.
If his tests have been fairlv accurate he need have little worrv as to the
^ .*
results of his making, and by testing the paper at the various stages of manu-
facture he can check any mistake and produce a satisfactory match to the
sample. But as the natural 'cussedness* of paper-making materials, machi-
nery, and workmanship may cause variations during the making of an order,
provided these variations do not go very far from the sample, the paper may
still, within certain limits, be called a 'commercial match'. The limits of some
of the variations, such as substance, are defined by the rules of the Associations
of Paper-makers and Stationers. Other variations, such as colour and opacity,
which are not amenable to exact measurement, are not so defined, and are left
to the decision of the customer.
This leaves openings which are sometimes taken advantage of by unscru-
pulous firms. A paper, for instance, may be rejected as not being an exact
match to the sample for colour. This may be quite true, as it is very difficult,
and in some cases almost impossible, to give an absolutely faultless match for
colour. After a great deal of correspondence and argument, and threats to
withhold future orders, the mill is forced to concede a percentage of the price,
and the paper is then accepted. Although the paper-maker is well aware that
his paper is a good commercial match, and would be considered so by a com-
petent independent judge, he dare not force acceptance by legal action, well
knowing that it may cause him serious loss of trade. Thus the importance of
testing paper, so far as it can be tested with certainty, will at once be recognized.
Some of the qualities of paper, as compared to the sample, are matters of
individual judgment and opinion; others are capable of being definitely
demonstrated.
Constant Humidity.—It has been shown that observations on most paper