Virgin Bond Roll Paper and Blended Bond Roll Paper

We are often asked about the differences between Virgin Bond Roll Paper and Blended Bond Roll Paper.  So we thought a blog post was in order to explain. 
 

What is Bond Paper? The term bond was originally a term applied to cotton-content paper used for printing bonds and legal documents. They are distinguished by strength, performance and durability. Bond paper is now made from either cotton, chemical wood pulp, or a combination of the two. Bond receipt paper rolls are used in impact printers that utilize ink ribbons. They are strong and durable, consisting of wood, cotton, or both, most commonly used for letterheads, stationery, business forms, cash register, calculator rolls etc. Bond papers are made to perform equally well for a pen/pencil, offset printing, engraving, laser printing and inkjet printing.

Virgin Bond vs. Blended Bond: The term Virgin Bond, means the paper was made from the fibers in their first use, usually from wood pulp representing the highest quality paper rolls available. Virgin bond roll paper is also referred to as Hi Bulk or Bright White paper.  Blended Bond paper (aka Environmentally Correct Paper) are classified as “medium” or “standard” grade level products, which leads to continuous confusion regarding the quality of these paper roll products. Blended Bond is made from alternative pulp (Thermo-Mechanical Pulp) of fast growing hybrid trees grown specifically for this purpose. Blended Bonds are not the same as recycled paper products which are actually the lowest grade Paper Roll Products.

Brightness (aka Whiteness): The alternative pulp is naturally whiter with a lower resin content thus requiring less bleaching agent to be used. This results in discernibly lowering the amount of bleaching agents and other chemicals typically used that are expelled into our rivers and streams, creating a more environmentally friendly product. The only significant difference when compared side-by-side is the brightness of Blended Bond is slightly less than the Premium Grade Paper Rolls.

 

How is Brightness Measured? Brightness is measured as the percentage of light in a narrow spectral range reflected from the surface of a sheet of paper. It is not necessarily related to color or whiteness. A blue-white and yellow-white paper can have the same brightness value but look very different.  Paper with a brightness of 98 is an extremely bright sheet with almost all light being reflected back to the viewer. Bright white sheets range from 92 to 100; the papers illuminate transparent printing inks, giving cleaner, crisper color and better black contrast.  Most virgin bond roll paper is around 92 bright and most blended bond roll paper are 85 bright. 

Please let us know if you have any questions, thoughts or comments.