January 30, 2026
Title: Dirt in Paper and Paperboard
This method (1-3) is suited for the visual estimation of dirt in paper or paperboard in terms of equivalent black area. For dirt in pulp, see TAPPI T 213 “Dirt in Pulp.” This method is a visual inspection method for the evaluation of the Equivalent Black Area (EBA) measurement of dirt in paper and paperboard. An equivalent instrumental method using image analysis for the measurement of dirt in pulp, paper, and paperboard in units of parts per million is given in TAPPI T 563 “Equivalent Black Area (EBA) and count of visible dirt in paper and paperboard by image analysis.” T 537 “Dirt count in paper and paperboard (optical character recognition – OCR)” reports the number of specks of 0.02 mm2 or larger per square meter.
This test method is used in conjunction with the TAPPI Dirt Estimation Chart to estimate the equivalent black area (EBA) of dirt or other colored specks over the range of 0.02 to 5.00 square millimeters. This opaque chart is to be used with TAPPI/ANSI Test Methods T213 and T437.
Purchasing Link: https://imisrise.tappi.org/TAPPI/Products/01/T/0104T437.aspx
Date of Publication: October 16, 2025.
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