It's gift giving season, with all its wrappings.  A perfect month to focus on paper.

We all know that today's newsprint is made from one of Earth's greatest renewable resources - trees. But did you know that it was well into the 1800's that paper production from wood began?  Until that time, a variety of plant fibers were used, but not wood! 

Paper production today is a mega-business. Some interesting facts from just one paper production facility here in the Northwest:

The Weyerhaeuser Norpac facility uses two materials to create newsprint and publishing papers: wood chips and recycled newspapers and magazines. Residual wood chips, which remain after sawmills have optimized the cutting of logs into lumber, are brought to their Longview, Washington, manufacturing facility in railcars. In addition, 1.5 million recycled newspapers and magazines are received into the facility DAILY from all over the western United States.

This finished paper is stored in a six-acre shipping warehouse, which uses state-of-the-art vacuum trucks to minimize damage to rolls. The warehouse loads an average of 45 trucks and 10 railcars daily. In addition, a ship loaded with about 13,500 rolls of paper departs for Japan from the mill every two weeks.

Wrapping Paper

Wrapping paper,also known as gift wrap, was known as "gift dressing" in the early 1900's.

Thick, decorative wrapping paper was often used by the wealthy in the 1800s to cover gifts, and in the early 1900s, plain red, white or green tissue paper was commonly used to wrap Christmas presents.

In 1917, Rollie and J.C. Hall, founders of the greeting card company Hallmark, sold out of tissue paper prior to Christmas in their retail store.  As an alternative, they supplied customers with fancy colored envelope linings, which were extremely popular, and this caused decorative wrapping paper to be quickly added to their line of products. More wrapping paper facts.

Tissue Paper

We think of toilet tissue, facial tissue, and tissue wrapping paper as light-weight.  But did you know that during production, tissue paper, which can be produced at speeds over a mile a minute, is wound onto giant rolls that can weight as much as five tons?

Trash, Recycle, or Compost? The city of San Francisco suggests the following: Tissue paper should always be composted. Tissue paper is usually made out of recycled paper, therefore the fibers are already shortened to the point where it cannot be recycled again.

Weights of paper "Grocery Bags"

Unlike regular paper labeled by a formula actually connected to the weight of the paper, paper bags were first measured by how many pounds of sugar they held.

Paper grocery bags come in a variety of "weights" from light (30 lb.) to heavy-duty (70 lb.) and 14 stock sizes, capable of holding 2 to 25 pounds.

Increase your vocabulary:  Mill Broke

Paper mills collect their internal paper and pulp waste and reuse it in other paper making processes.  The waste is known as "mill broke."  Paper made from mill broke is technically not "recycled" paper as that term is reserved for paper products that have previously reached the public sector.

Congratulations to WP Customers

The following WebPress customers placed highly in several categories of the recent NNA Better Newspaper Contest and Better Newspaper Advertising Contest. 

• The Standard Banner - Jefferson City, TN
• Farm & Dairy - Salem, OH
• The Times-Citizen - Iowa City, IA
• Jackson Hole News & Guide - Jackson, WY
• The Daily Herald - Roanoke Rapids, NC

To read the full results, visit the Publishers' Auxiliary November issue (Contest results start on page 25).