Showing posts with label wet strength. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wet strength. Show all posts

Friday 30 April 2021

Rathfinny Map

Husband and wife, Mark and Sarah Driver, established the Rathfinny Wine Estate in 2010 on a working arable farm with the express intention of producing some of the world’s finest quality sparkling wines. Today, the vines cover 600-acres of the Sussex South Downs and is set to become one of the largest single vineyards in Europe. Pentagram devised the brand strategy and visual identity.
Visitors to the estate are supplied with this map, which gives directions and points of interest about the vineyard and countryside. This publication is designed by London based studio UTILE.
Click on images to enlarge
The finished size is A6 (148x105mm) folding out to A3 (297x420mm) and is printed offset litho in four colour process.
Above and below images show the map-fold...
The choice of paper for this project is an interesting one! The original choice was to use a synthetic paper as typically, with the British weather, paper maps get wet and the paper falls apart. However, synthetic papers are basically plastic and it does not fit with the vineyard's environmental policy. The solution is a clever one! It is produced on a 100% recycled (post consumer waste) label paper called Trevi manufactured by the Reflex Paper Mill in Germany. So, I hear you ask, why is that so clever? Well, this label paper is manufactured with what is described as 'Wet Strength' (WS) and is manufactured with the addition of chemicals which improve the tensile properties of the paper both in wet and dry state by crosslinking the cellulose fibres with covalent bonds that do not break upon wetting. It basically mens that it doesn't fall apart when it gets wet. These papers are generally used for label papers where the label is required to come off in one piece in the recycling process. It is also the same technique that is used in facial tissues, which stops them falling apart when you blow your nose, unlike toilet paper, which falls apart. This looks and feels like a totally normal sheet of paper but when it gets wet it will hold together, much better than a normal sheet of paper - it's the perfect choice! 
Click on images to enlarge
Above and below images show both sides 
The design incorporates these superb woodcuts, which look perfect on the neutral white shade of the paper.
Click on images to enlarge
The paper is called Trevi Recycled 80gsm which is manufactured by the Reflex paper mill in Germany and we are pleased to be their UK stockist and distributor.

Below image showing front and back covers.
Design is by UTILE. Creative Director on the project is Nicholas Duggins and the designer is Sammy Taylor. Printing is by Identity Printers with Paul Martin handling the project.

...and just in case, I gave the map a total soaking in the sink and it holds together perfectly, just as promised!

Sunday 15 March 2020

The great toilet paper shortage...

Given the terrible and worrying recent spread of the Covid 19 virus, there have been the rather humorous stories of people hoarding toilet roll, leaving empty shelves in the shops and supermarkets. I just wanted to share a couple of points with you that you might find interesting and even useful...

The first thing to point out is that whereas our paper manufacturing industry is now virtually non existent (back in the 19th and 20th centuries, Great Britain was one of the largest paper making nations) in the world of 'tissue and hygenic papers' we actually still have a decent amount of manufacturing capability in the UK. In fact about two thirds of domestic consumption in the UK is manufactured in the UK (according to the CPI) ...which is excellent news and means that we really, really won't run out.

However there is one thing that I want to warn you about, just in case you run out of toilet tissue. DO NOT use tissues, hand towel or kitchen roll in the toilet and then flush down the toilet. Why not...? Read below to find out.
Hand towel, kitchen towel and tissues are specially made to have what is called "wet strength" which means that chemicals are added in the manufacturing process which hold the fibres together when they get wet. The reason for this is that you don't want shredded wet tissue over your nose after you have just blown it or for hand towel to fall apart as you are drying your hands. Normal papers disintegrate when they get wet and the fibres will break apart in water. Toilet paper is specifically designed to efficiently break up in water and flush away down the pipes and disintegrate into fibres, however tissue papers and hand towels are specifically designed NOT to break up and hold together intact. The result is that flush these products down the toilet and you will get a blockage - so it's really not worth doing, after all, nobody wants to unblock drains.

So now you can amaze your friends down the pub or at dinner parties and explain why you shouldn't block toilets with tissues!
Posted by Justin Hobson 15.03.2020