Standards, TIPs, & UMs
To search for Standards, Technical Information Papers, and Useful Methods [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.
TAPPI Useful Methods
TAPPI Useful Methods (UMs) describe tests, procedures, or practices written in the same general style as a TAPPI Standard Test Method, but with minimum precision requirement. UMs do not receive the same review through a consensus process, and thus are not Standards.
Quality and Standards Management Committee
The Quality and Standards Management Committee supervises the program for Standards, TIPs, and Useful Methods and develops and maintains the guidelines for the development and review of these documents.
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, TIPs, and Useful Methods
Any TAPPI member can submit a proposal for a new Standard, TIP, or Useful Method. To open a new Work Item to develop a new document, 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 are 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 or new UMs are submitted, the Standards Manager will work with the proposer to follow the required format for TIPs or UMs and to obtain the required number of reviewers as outlined in detail in the TIPs Guidelines or UM 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.
Useful Methods Update Page - Useful Methods after March 2011
This page lists revisions or additions that have been made to the Useful Methods set since the issuance of the most recent CD versions.
Useful Methods after March 2011
Effective with the issuance of the 2011 CD of Standards in March 2011, TAPPI Useful Methods will once again be a category of TAPPI documents. A TAPPI Useful Method, as defined in the new set of Useful Method Guidelines, is a document written to describe a test, procedure, or practice which may be proposed by a Working Group of no fewer than three TAPPI members not employed by the same organization and written in the same general style as a TAPPI Standard Test Method, but with the inclusion or exclusion of certain sections as deemed appropriate by the Working Group, and with minimum precision requirements that may be expanded at the discretion of the Working Group. A UM is written with no less attention to proper use of the language to describe the procedure using essentially the same elements of a TAPPI Standard Test Method, but in a less rigorous manner. TAPPI Useful Methods do not receive the same review through a rigorous process of openness, voluntary review, and consensus as do the TAPPI Standard Test Methods, and as such, TAPPI Useful Methods are not intended to be used as referee methods as the TAPPI Standard Test Methods are.
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.
ANSI Certification
Effective mid-December 2009, TAPPI has been certified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standards development organization. This certification means that TAPPI’s procedures adhere to the standards set by ANSI in terms of openness, balance, public announcements, and due process, and TAPPI may submit its standards to be considered as American National Standards.
General Information Documents available for download:
Regulations and Style Guidelines