Standards & TIPs
To search for Standards & Technical Information Papers [click here].
Public Notice of Standards in Review. All ballots for review of existing standards or for new standards are announced in the newsletter, the Standards and TIPs Action Report (STAR). TAPPI members may join the Standard-Specific Interest Groups (SSIGs) as permanent members; nonmembers of TAPPI can join SSIGs as voting members for the purposes of reviewing and commenting on drafts (send a message to standards@tappi.org). To read the current or past issues of STAR and/or to sign up for the STAR notification list, please go the Specialty Newsletters page, where you will find links to the STAR at the bottom of the page.
TAPPI Standards may be in the form of Test Methods or as other documents (including specifications, guidelines, glossaries, practices, etc.) that have been developed as TAPPI Standards through the consensus of a technical working group (defined in the guidelines as Standard-Specific Interest Groups) acting in accordance with the procedures described in the guidelines. TAPPI does not engage in activities or publish Standards that could lead to standardization of products or services in ways that would reduce competition, impede the development of improvements to those products or services, or would result in a stabilization of costs for those products or services. TAPPI Standard Test Methods are testing procedures and related practices used in the measurement, evaluation, and description of pulp, paper, and related products, including raw materials used in their manufacture, use, or in scientific investigations of any such substances.
TAPPI Technical Information Papers (TIPs) are documents containing specialized information (e.g., data, software, calculations) used in the manufacture, evaluation and description of pulp, paper, and related products, written in a standardized format which is readily useable by the industry. Technical Information Papers may contain testing procedures or methods used to evaluate equipment but do not contain pulp and paper testing procedures or test methods.
Online Licenses for Standards and TIPs
For up-to-date access to the most current TAPPI Standards and Technical Information Papers, you may obtain an Individual License to access Standards and TIPs online, or your company can provide all employees with access by purchasing a TAPPI Company License.
View Drafts
If you are a TAPPI member and would like to review all drafts of methods currently in ballot, you may do so online. If you are already signed up for one or more Standard-Specific Interest Groups (SSIGs), you need to log in and go to your personal "MY TAPPI" page to vote on standards that you have signed up for.
Review Schedule for TAPPI Standards
The system for review and development of TAPPI Standards requires an announcement of review dates for methods so that any interested TAPPI members may access the drafts and submit comments. See the Review Schedule for the latest information.
How to propose new Standards or TIPs
Any TAPPI member can submit a proposal for a new Standard or TIP. To open a new Work Item to develop a new Standard or TIP, a preliminary draft (containing at a minimum a description of the scope of the document) must be submitted to standards@tappi.org.
After proposals for new Standards area submitted, the Standards Manager will work with the proposer to develop a Standard-Specific Interest Group (SSIG) for the new Standard. This will set in motion the development and review process, which is outlined in detail in the Standards Guidelines.
After proposals for new TIPs are submitted, the Standards Manager will work with the proposer to follow the required format for TIPs and to obtain the required number of reviewers as outlined in detail in the TIPs Guidelines.
Status Reports
TAPPI volunteers who would like to access information on the ongoing reviews of Standards and TIPs will find open and published work item status reports on the Status Reports for Standards and Technical Information Papers page.
Join Standard-Specific Interest Groups
Join a Standard-Specific Interest Group and participate in the review and development of Standards.
Standards Advisory Review Group
View the activities of the Standards Advisory Review Group (SARG, the group that gives final approval for TAPPI Standards), including any upcoming agendas for SARG meetings.
Standards Update Page
This page lists revisions or additions that have been made to the Standards set since the issuance of the most recent CD version.
TIPs Update Page
This page lists revisions or additions that have been made to the TIPs set since the issuance of the most recent CD version.
Withdrawn or Historical Documents
Withdrawn Standards and TIPs and previous versions of Standards and TIPs are not available on the web, but some are available upon request. Standards that were withdrawn for technical reasons are not available for distribution. Withdrawn and historical TIPs are available, and Standards that were administratively withdrawn (i.e., withdrawn for no technical reason but due to lack of timely review) are available free to TAPPI members. There is a US$ 10 charge per document for nonmembers. The numerical indexes for Standards and TIPs (see links below under General Information Documents) show all withdrawn documents (with a "wd" designation). To request withdrawn or historical documents, contact Sarah Ellsworth at sellsworth@tappi.org. NOTE: These documents are made available for reference purposes; withdrawn documents and previous versions of existing documents are NOT currently sanctioned by TAPPI or the technical experts who develop TAPPI Standards and TIPs.
General Information Documents available for download:
Regulations and Style Guidelines