Canada Unitrade Catalogue - Paper Types - Misunderstood!

The first subdivision would be hand-made versus machine-made. Apart from maybe a few 19th century stamps, ALL stamps are printed on machine-made paper.

The textile-binding of the long wire/sieve gets imprinted in the paper-reel at the wire-side and hence maybe visible in our stamp papers.

This sieve-structure has (so far) 3 types of binding:

Linen-binding:



after connecting the cross-overs by a blue line:



Twill-binding:



after connecting the cross-overs by a blue line:



The purples lines represent diagonals our eyes are less likely to see, but still!

In the linen-binding the diagonals are symmetrical and are equidistant - the next parallel blue line is just as far way in the case of the ascending lines as of the descending lines.

In the twill-binding, however, the ascending blue lines are nearer to each other!

I hope this will make it clear why I refer to the linen-binding as symmetrical and to the twill-binding as asymmetrical. It is not just the angles of the blue lines but also the density!

The first two types of bindings can be found chronologically since the 1850-ies till 1937 with NO exception. ALL have a linen-binding.

The twill-bindings can be seen since 1937 - occurring for the first time in Canadian stamps.

Around 1971 the "simple" bindings were replaced by a multi-layered binding.

There is NO laid paper as coming from the long sieve! It is either a watermark OR a later finishing-off the paper-reel that is responsible for the so-called "laid lines".

The is NO wove paper as such! ALL machine-made papers have a weave-like pattern [see my pictures above!]

Whether the sieve structure becomes visible for us depends on a variety of factors. None of which justify a separate category of paper!

The so-called "ribbing" is NO extra effect but depends on the relative thickness of the threads of the sieve.

Having established the direction of paper - i.e. where are the lengthwise threads of the sieve - and placing a stamp in our hands so the lengthwise threads run vertically, the horizontal threads are sometimes thicker. In a linen-binding this will rarely give a visible effect, in a twill-binding these thicker line give us the impression of "ribbing"!

ALL "ribbings" in Canadian stamps in the 1952-1975 period come from the twill-binding. Although it may be expected that the best side of a stamp paper - i.e.the felt side - was used for printing, this is NOT always so!

ALL 1952-1955 stamps have the wire side printed!

In the 1955-1967 period most stamps on uncoated paper have the felt side printed.

Since 1967 it gets complicated, too complicated to go into it in this thread....

An example of the multilayered binding as in use in 1986 in the Paper Mills of Maastricht, The Netherlands.

http://www.greenefoundation.ca/Repo...y152013).pdf







Laid lines as seen from the front
VSC6000 photographhusing 365nm transmitted ultra violet light

http://www.galeoptix.nl/fila/canada...k_2ct_02.jpg

Laid lines as seen from the back
VSC6000 photograph using spot fluorescence



Normal linen-binding with probably later on applied horizontal lines in the finishing off of the paper! These lines were applied at the FRONT as can be expected with the sieve structure at the back!

NO LAID PAPER!

Whatever the „lines" are it is NOT laid paper!

This 2c Large Queen stamp may be an interesting variety, but as you can see from the picture, the „mesh" runs though the „lines" so the lines do NOT belong to the wire/sieve.

Since it is a variety of Canada Scott 24 that has its own individual full Scott 32 number where as other varieties have the Scott 24 number followed by a letter which makes it a sub-number and since only three used copies have been found so far, this makes it a rare and desirable stamp to many Canada stamp collectors. There are many other different paper types according to Duckworth and this is considered to be horizontal laid lines with vertical mesh paper (Duckworth paper type 5). This division of Scott numbers can be argued as having been previously applied to Canada Scott 1-3 laid paper and Canada Scott 4-10 wove paper. The aforementioned is all taken from the Scott/Unitrade catalogues. It appears that the so-called stitch watermark may have been removed from its listings.

Thank you to the OP for the excellent primer on weave patterns. Your posts are deepening my understanding of the papermaking process, please continue.

The Unitrade catalogue uses the Scott numbering system by a licensing agreement. (For example, Scott calls a #24b thin paper; Unitrade must do so too even though it does not measure as a thin paper.)

The terms used to describe paper come from the visual and tactile observations of early researchers. They are often not technically accurate but the names have remained. In the interests of brevity I'll avoid listing any more.

Even the earliest laid papers (Canada #1, 2, 3) appear to be machine-made, not on the traditional wire sieve and rectangular mold.

Jogil mentions stitch watermarks, which are not really watermarks. They are better thought of as EFO's. They are remnants of repairs or surface anomalies on the sieve. They are surprisingly common on Small Queens, and vary so much in strength and appearance it is hard to justify giving them a catalogue sub-listing.

As we discussed this here before! :)

It is just a watermark applied by a dandy-roll.

Excellent! I am looking forward to incorporating this information into my discussion of the papers on the Caricature Issues when I get time to start writing again.

I guess I have a lot to understand in terms of the paper production. The pictures you have above with the metal screening - is that contemporary to the 1930's or is it relatively modern? So you are saying that the pulp was put on these types of metal screens in the Forming part of the process. At what point of the process is the binding (which you also show above) used? I believe that they use felt in the drying process.

As you seem to know a lot about paper, I was hoping perhaps you could join some of the dots so I can see the whole process.

Brad,

The bindings are what the long-sieve is made off. So at the very beginning of the paper making process.

Linen-binding fron the very beginning of machine-made paper. Twill-binding since 1937!

Multi-layered bindings since 1974!

Rein

I am not sure that "binding" is the correct word in English. Then again, I am not in the paper industry and that is a part of philately I have ignored in the past, but would like to know more.

At any rate, I still don't really understand what part of the papermaking process this is applicable to.

Brad,

plain weave and twill may be more proper term for it...

Rein