Take the money

Much of the pioneering development work in respect of wetlaid nonwovens dates back to before the term ‘nonwovens’ was actually in use and refers instead to the production of ‘synthetic fibre papers’, writes editor Adrian Wilson.

Today, there is a general  division between paper and wetlaid nonwoven products based on cellulosics, as defined by ISO and  based on the percentage of viscose fibre per square metre and also the length-to-diameter ratio of the fibres.

Bank notes, however, clearly fall into something of a category of their own, being generally comprised of around 70% cotton fibres, reinforced with linen, as opposed to wood fibres for one thing.

And while the major manufacturers of banknotes refer to their products as papers, they too started production sometime before nonwovens – or even mass-manufactured wood-based papers – became products in their own right.