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| Grade Structure Grade Definitions |
Grade Structure
Product definitions, terms and grade structures used in the market place and for purposes of collecting data vary somewhat across regions.
For statistical purpose, the PPPC uses the grade structure below.
PAPER
Newsprint
Printing & Writing Papers
Uncoated Mechanical
High-Gloss
Standard
Lightweight
Uncoated Woodfree
Offset
Bond & Writing
Forms
Envelopes
Other
Coated Woodfree
Coated 1 side
Coated 2 sides (#1 to #5)
Other
Coated Mechanical
Coated #4
Coated #5
Kraft Papers
Wrapping
Multi-wall
Other Bag and Sack
Other converting
Tissue and Speciality
PAPERBOARD
Boxboard
Solid bleached
Recycled boxboard
Other recycled board
Containerboard
Linerboard
Kraft Liner
Recycled Liner
Medium
Semi Chemical medium
REcycled & Kraft medium
WOOD PULP
Chemical Paper Grade Pulp
Sulphite Pulp
Unbleached
Bleached
Sulphate Pulp
Unbleached
Bleached & Semi Bleached
Softwood
Northern Softwood
Southern Softwood
Other Softwood
Hardwood
Northern Hardwood
Southern Hardwood
Eucalyptus Hardwood
Tropical Hardwood
Semi-chemical Pulp
High Yield & Mechanical Paper Grade Pulp
Stone Groundwood Pulp
Refiner Pulp
Thermomechanical Pulp
Chemithermomechanical Pulp
Grade Defintions
PAPER
Newsprint
A general term used to describe paper between 40 g/m2 and 57 g/m2 generally used in the publication of newspapers. The furnish is largely mechanical wood pulp with some chemical wood pulp.
North America
The definition of newsprint used by the PPPC for statistical purposes is as follows:
Grammage
Colour
Caliper
Brightness
Ash Content
Sizing
Smoothness40 - 57 grams per square metre;
white or slightly coloured;
under 100.0 microns (0.00394 inches);
less than or equal to 65 ISO;
not exceeding 8.0% by weight;
unsized or lightly sized;
greater than or equal to 2.61 PPS :m (S10)
Western Europe
Newsprint is that quality of paper used chiefly for the publication of newspapers and which has a basis weight of 40 - 57 grams. Other properties correspond to the EU harmonized definition, with a brightness up to and including 71 ISO.
Grammage
Colour
Brightness
Ash content
Smoothness
Bulky Factor
Furnish
40 - 57 grams per square metre;
white or slightly coloured;
59 - 71ISO;
not exceeding 10 percent by weight;
not exceeding 200 seconds BEKK;
below 1.7;
not less than 65 percent mechanical pulp by weight.
Rest of World
Uncoated paper of a kind used for the printing of newspapers, of which not less than 65% by weight of the total fibre content consists of wood fibres obtained by a mechanical or chemi-mechanical process, unsized or very lightly sized, having a surface roughness Parker Print Surf (1 MPa) on each side exceeding 2.5 micrometres (microns), weighing not less than 40g/m2 and not more than 65g/m2.
Uncoated Mechanical Papers
These are uncoated papers, excluding newsprint, containing mainly fibres from a mechanical pulping process. They include papers for inserts, flyers, magazines, catalogues, directories, books, etc.
Uncoated Woodfree Papers
Uncoated papers which contain mainly wood fibres obtained by a chemical pulping process. They cover a wide range of end uses such as printing papers, bond, ledger, duplicating, envelope, and stationery.
Coated Mechanical Papers
A coated paper made from a furnish containing mainly fibres from a mechanical pulping process. The major end-uses are magazines and catalogues.
In Europe these papers are classified according to basis weight - medium-weight and lightweight. In North America, they are classified according to brightness - categories #4 and #5 (note: in North America coated papers are classified #1 through #5, mainly according to brightness).
Because Europe is the largest producing region and lightweight grades account for about 80% of European production, the term lightweight coated (or LWC) is often incorrectly used in North America to describe #5 or coated mechanical papers in general.
These papers are occasionally referred to as coated groundwood papers.
Coated Woodfree Papers
A coated paper made from a furnish containing mainly fibres from a chemical pulping process. The major end-uses are high-end catalogues and magazines, annual reports and promotional material.
In North America, woodfree papers that are coated on both sides are classified #1, the highest quality, through #5. The #2 and #3 grades account for about 85% of production. Brightness is the most important criteria.
Kraft PapersPapers made predominantly from wood pulp produced by the sulphate pulping process. They are comparatively coarse, noted particularly for their strength and, in unbleached grades, used primarily as wrappers or packaging materials. They can be converted into a wide variety of products such as grocers' bag, envelopes, multiwall sacks, tire wraps, butchers' wraps, etc.
Tissue
These include any type of disposable paper used for sanitary purposes. Generally these papers are absorbent, bulky and have a soft texture.
Speciality Papers
Papers with very specific physical characteristics, usually intended for a particular end-use. These include, for example, greaseproof and glassine papers which are generally made from chemical wood pulp and are highly hydrated so that the paper is resistant to oil and grease.
PAPERBOARD
Boxboard
A general term designating the paperboard used for fabricating boxes. It may be plain, lined or clay coated.
Containerboard
Component materials - linerboard and corrugating medium - used in the manufacture of shipping containers and other corrugated board products.
WOOD PULP
Sulphite Pulp
Paper grade pulp produced by the sulphite process. Bleached pulp must achieve a G.E. brightness of more than 75.
Sulphate Pulp
Paper grade pulp produced by the sulphate process. Bleached pulp must achieve a G.E. brightness of more than 75 and semi-bleached pulp a brightness of not less than 45 or more than 75. The softwood variety is generally referred to as NBKP, and the hardwood as LBKP.
Sulphate Pulp is sometimes referred to as kraft pulp.
Semi-chemical
High-yield pulp produced by a mild chemical treatment of the raw material followed by a mechanical defibrating operation. This type of pulp is generally used to produce corrugating medium.
Stone Groundwood Pulp (SGW)
Pulp produced by grinding wood logs or bolts (usually 4 feet in length) into relatively short fibres.
Refiner Pulp (RMP)
Pulp produced by subjecting wood chips and/or residues to atmospheric or open-discharge refining.
Thermomechanical Pulp (TMP)
A high-yield pulp produced by a process in which wood particles are softened by pre-heating under pressure prior to a pressurized refining stage. TMP is generally used at mills producing newsprint and mechanical printing papers. Many older mills have replaced their groundwood and sulphite pulping operations with TMP.
Chemithermomechanical Pulp (CTMP)
A category of pulp which is produced by a process in which wood chips are treated with chemicals prior to heating and refining. Unbleached CTMP is mainly used in integrated paper mills. Bleached CTMP, dried and sold as market pulp, has grown significantly in importance and is now widely used in the production of many grades of paper, including woodfree papers.