Whatman is a familiar paper in an unusual light

Whatman is a thick white paper. It refers to products of the highest quality, with surface sizing, without texture. By type, Whatman is a drawing paper that is suitable for drawing with a pencil or watercolor paints. Such paper is ideal for drawing, as it is very resistant to abrasion.

In the post-Soviet countries, the standard format is Whatman A1 (size 594 x 841 mm). So called any sheet of the A1 format , which is not entirely true. After all, Whatman is a special technology of paper production, named after its inventor. Abroad such a paper is called Velenyeva, it produces albums for drawing and forms for valuable documents.

History of appearance

Issue Whatman began in England in the 18th century (in the mid-1750s). The inventor of this type of paper can be called James Watman (James Whatman). The paper could well be called "votmen," but because of the specificity of the transliteration of English names in Cyrillic alphabet, the well-known name was born.

Mr. Wachtman tanned the skin, but the desire to get rich led to the discovery in 1733 of his own paper production. He set out to produce the best paper in Europe, which helped the most experienced masters of Britain, who worked in his factory. Unlike competitors, Wachtman's factory produced paper from linen and hemp rags, making cellulose cleaner than wood.

The artists were the first to appreciate the high quality of Wotman's products - the mark of the pencil was perfectly visible, and the watercolor paints perfectly fell on a dense basis. Wachtman had no competitors for 30 years, his paper became known outside the UK, it was widely used for printing books. The first book printed on Whatman is a collection of Virgil's works, and the most famous is the Bible, dated 1763.

Wachtman himself called his invention "woven" or "vellum" paper because the even structure of the sheet is comparable to the finest fabric. The paper was distinguished by its whiteness and strength, and, unlike the paper of other factories, the absence of traces from the mold.

After the death of James Wachtman, the enterprise was inherited by his son, already with him the production of the factory began to be called the Whatman paper or simply a Whatman. The company Watman exists and now, only now it produces medical equipment.

About the Whatman formats

The paper size is a kind of template of a certain size, accepted as a standard. The international community has adopted the ISO standard, which divides into series: A - for documents, B - for polygraphy, C - for envelopes. In the standard ISO formats, which has values from 0 to 10, each next size is half the size of the previous one.

Whatman, produced in the post-Soviet countries, can be in the format from A1 to A4. So, A1 format is used for professional designing and prototyping, A2 is popular among students who at this rate take diploma and coursework, A3 was chosen by artists, A4 is the most convenient for children who are just starting to learn how to draw.

Whatman at home

Based on the maximum format A0, which has an area of 1 meter square, it is easy to obtain the desired size by dividing it in half. So, drawing paper A1 is obtained by dividing A0 by 2. It is noteworthy that the system works in the opposite direction: A1 can be obtained by connecting together 8 sheets of A4 paper. Similarly, the question is solved, how to do Whatman at home.

Out of drafting and drawing

Historically, Whatman (format A1, as defined above) has become a favorite paper not only for people of technical professions, but also for the realization of all sorts of creative ideas. On the paper they produced wall newspapers, posters for weddings and anniversaries, for the New Year and all sorts of memorable events were drawn.

Whatman and the Present

With the development of modern technologies, Whatman has not lost its relevance. With its help make popular, but previously unknown things: backgrounds for photos, wish cards , posters with gifts.

Depending on the goal pursued, the question of how to issue the paper is different. If you need a photo phone, then no additional decor is needed. The whiteness of the paper perfectly emphasizes the texture of the objects placed on the paper. Popular cards for girls or visualization boards on this sheet are simply made out: clippings from magazines or pictures printed from the Internet that show the desired object (for example, fashion shoes, a car, a place you want to go to rest) are glued to the paper.

With the help of a paper it is easy to make an original gift - a poster with sweets (chocolate bars, sweets or chewing gum in individual packing). White background in this case, you can decorate, write congratulations to the recipient and use two-sided adhesive tape to paste your favorite sweets. It is important to choose small packages so that the adhesive tape copes with the load.