How old is correction fluid

Financial planner Tom Corley explains , "When you realize a business dream, the financial rewards are very often significant when compared to the investment. And the payoff is often life changing. Indeed, as her company succeeded, Graham could at last afford luxury items like fancy jewelry and a Rolls Royce. She set up two nonprofits which provided financial support and grants to women in the arts and in business.

But Graham's second husband, Robert Graham, who had become highly involved in the company, tried to wrest control away from her. Just six months later, she died unexpectedly of a stroke. He took over her nonprofits and continued sharing his mother's story.

Like this story? First, the fluid is applied to the paper over the errant mark. Then it forms a film, which bonds to the paper fibers. This film is an elastic polymer that is both strong and flexible. Fixed in this film are pigments, which are supposed to match the color of the paper and cover the incorrect ink mark. When the film is dry it can be written over. A variety of correction fluid products have been developed for different applications The most common types are those designed to be used on standard, white typing paper.

These formulas are typically white and designed to dry relatively quickly. Other fluids are available for special types of paper. For bonded paper, correction fluid formulas are made which give a different texture when they dry. This makes the correction less noticeable. For corrections on paper that is not white, various colored correction fluid are available.

Products are also available for photocopying applications. These formulas are made with special additives that reduce the reflection of light off the film. While the standard product is sold in a plastic jar with an applicator brush built in the cap, this is not the only kind. Some fluids are sold in a pen, which uses a roller ball applicator. These products give better control over the application and the amount of fluid used.

Other correction fluid type products are sold as solid films. These products are designed to be placed in front of the typing hammer of a typewriter. When the type-writer hammer hits the film it transfers the correction formula onto the paper in the exact shape as the letter providing a perfect coverup.

As computers gradually replace conventional typewriters, this product will be used less frequently. Before a correction fluid can be made for the first time, a formula must be developed. This is done by trained chemists who are knowledgeable of a variety of raw materials.

These scientists begin by choosing what characteristics are required for the fluid. They decide on functional features such as how long the product will take to dry, how strong the film has to be, and how stable it will be during storage.

They also consider aesthetic features such as how thick it should be, what color it will be and how it will be delivered from the package. Often consumer testing is employed to help with these determinations.

Preliminary formulae are first prepared in small beakers in the lab so the performance aspects of the formula can be evaluated. Tests for the correction fluid's effectiveness are done on these initial samples. Other tests may be run, including stability tests, safety tests, and consumer acceptance testing.

Stability testing is used to detect physical changes in characteristics such as color, odor and thickness over time. It helps ensure that the product on the store shelves will work just like the formula created in the laboratory. Using the information obtained during this testing phase, the formula can be adjusted to produce the best product. There are many different types of ingredients that can be used to make a correction fluid formula. In general, the formulas are composed of an opacifying agent, a polymeric film former, a solvent, and other miscellaneous ingredients.

The opacifying agent is a key ingredient in the correction fluid formula. It is the material responsible for covering the errant marking. The most common opacifying agent is titanium dioxide. This is an inorganic material derived from various titanium ores.

It is an opaque material, which does not significantly absorb visual light. Since it has a high refractive index, it produces a predominantly white color. By changing the processing method and mixing the titanium dioxide with different materials, a variety of other colors may be produced. These are used for the different colored correction fluids. Although the opacifying agent actually covers the error, a polymeric material is used to affix it to the paper. Read: A corrected history of the typo.

There were other products that achieved the same goal, such as strips of sticky paper that covered up errors, but Liquid Paper quickly eclipsed them—so much so that it soon drew imitators.

In , Tipp-Ex began producing its own fluid in Germany. Of course, correction fluids are useful for things other than typewriting. In the pre-laser-printer era, it was often easier to correct a document from a dot-matrix printer by hand than to reprint it. Handwritten documents in ink are also more easily corrected with Wite-Out than rewritten.

But today, even printer sales are down , casualties of an era when more and more writing is executed on-screen and never printed or written out at all. In fact, the office-supply industry as a whole is slumping. According to a report by the analysis firm Technavio, the U. The paper industry has had it especially bad.

Yet correction fluid remains remarkably resilient. Somehow, more than a decade on, it has kept its ground. According to the NPD Group, which tracks marketing data, sales of correction fluid grew 1 percent from to , though they fell 7 percent the year before.