Paper test rooms: design considerations

The purpose of this TIP is to generally describe the primary factors impacting a TAPPI conditioned lab and provide a conceptual list of items to consider when building the conditioned space. TAPPI T 402 “Standard Conditioning and Testing Atmospheres for Paper, Board, Pulp Handsheets and Related Products” (1) requires atmospheric conditions of 23 ± 1°C temperature and 50 ± 2% relative humidity (RH) uniformly throughout the testing room. To attain these requirements, a room should be built with basic functional features. The information presented is intended to guide and to educate and therefore can be modified to meet the specific conditions required.

This is not an engineering treatise on how to construct a test room. Such information can be obtained in many engineering design books (see References). Various technical organizations have related standards that are of value (see References).