Zecom paper is available in packs of
100 sheets for £26 + VAT, which works out at around 30p per sheet. You
can order it by telephone on 01473 890285 and pay by credit card, or you can
order by post from VIP, Pettaugh, STOWMARKET, Suffolk, IP14 6AX.
In addition to Zecom paper, the distributors, VIP, sell waterproof notepads, pens, stainless steel paperclips and a range of other outdoor writing accessories. There is a web site at www.weatherwriter.com where you can check the price and order code of the items you wish to purchase.
It may seem odd to consider sheets of paper to be walking equipment worthy of review, but this paper does have an obvious application in providing waterproof maps, signs, and route descriptions for LDWA walks. Several varieties of waterproof paper and notepads are available (e.g. Tyvek), but Zecom paper has the distinction that it can be photocopied or run through a laser printer. Documents printed on to Zecom paper are extremely durable, a fact which may seem surprising given that no special procedure or toner is required.
I have used this paper to produce walk tallies for LDWA events. The advantage is that the tallies can be printed at the last moment, and overprinted with any late instructions to walkers. The walker's name can also be included and any other requirements specific to a particular event, such as detachable meal tickets indicating meat or veggie food, for example.
Before committing myself to using the paper I carried out some tests and I was extremely impressed by the robust nature of the printing. Laser-printed samples survived several weeks outside in the rain; or being scrunched up in my pocket. I even kept a sample in my armpit for an evening to check that sweat did not degrade the paper. The paper proved extremely difficult to damage - even with a scouring pad it was not easy to scrub the printing from the paper.
Armed with this
evidence, I prepared to print walk tallies for two local events - The Burley
Bridge Hike (November 98) and the Trollers Trot (February 99). A few days
before the events, the walk organiser John Sparshatt e-mailed me his
Excel list of entrants. I used Microsoft's Word 97 to design a
template for the tallies, at seven per A4 sheet. I then used Word's mail
merge facility to add the tally numbers and the walkers' names. For the
Trollers Trot there were a couple of last minute route changes. John e-mailed
me the revised section of the route description and I printed it on the back of
the tallies. The A4 sheets were cut into strips with a guillotine and punched
with two holes for a piece of string. Why two holes? Well, the second hole is a
spare one in case you lose one. If the hole is not punched cleanly a sharp tug
can tear the paper (which is otherwise very strong). You then have the problem
that because the paper is so tough it is difficult to make a new hole.
There are some points you need to bear in mind when using this paper. As mentioned above, the holes must be punched very cleanly, so you need to use a good quality punch. Printing the document to a laser printer is, of course, straightforward, although it pays to keep an eye on the printer. I did not have any problems with the paper jamming, except on the few occasions when it did not exit cleanly from the printer. Unless the sheets fall clear of the printer they will pile up and, because they are 'stickier' and heavier than normal paper, the printer may not be able to eject subsequent sheets. I used a flat paper path, as a bent path introduces a curl to the paper. This only matters if you want to print the second side of the paper. To be on the safe side I waited 24 hours before printing the second side, to make sure that the paper had flattened and completely lost its static charge.
Compared with conventional tallies the paper is thinner and curlier, but I don't think we received any complaints. (What a surprise!). As well as including the entrants' names, and other details mentioned above, there is also the possibility of including a bar-code if your event needs automatic logging. ('Truetype' bar-code fonts are available for your PC or Mac.) In fact, you can include anything on the tally that you can create in a word-processed document!
At another recent LDWA event that I took part in, I photocopied my route description onto Zecom paper beforehand so that it would survive being clutched in my sweaty hand, in the pouring rain, for 25 miles.
Walk tallies are a fairly specialised use of this paper; but it is also suitable for orienteering maps, outdoor signs (neither the paper nor the printing degrades in prolonged sunlight) and any situation where a waterproof printed sheet is required. I can thoroughly recommend it.
Samples of this paper, printed with cave surveys, have survived the mud and grit at the bottom of a caving tackle sack, as well as several weeks outside in the rain. Apart from printing cave surveys, an obvious application for this paper would be for the printing of data grids for cave surveying applications. You then have the opportunity to tailor the design of the page to your precise requirements. Instructions for underground first aid kits and outdoor notices and signs are other applications where this paper would come in useful. Neither the paper nor the printing degrades in prolonged sunlight, which is also useful for outdoor signs.
The distributors of Zecom paper also stock waterproof pens and the 'Waterbook' range of waterproof notebooks and memo pads. Some samples were kindly provided for evaluation by CUCC's Austria expedition in 1998, and by the BCRA's Cave Surveying Group at their field meetings. They were also offered as prizes at the national caving conference in 1998 and 1999. In the CSG's newsletter, Compass Points Wookey wrote:
"The CSG tried out the waterproof notebooks surveying Dowel Dale Side Pot. There were two teams, one using the 'waterbook', the other using a Chartwell rag-paper notebook. The bottom half of Dowel Dale was 'pretty damn wet' for surveying on that day. Water dribbles out of all the holes in the choke so it's almost impossible to keep the notebook dry after a while. The normally excellent rag-paper really wasn't up to the job, as all the pages became stuck together and it slowed surveying down significantly. It didn't disintegrate or lose the data, but it wasn't much fun.
"In contrast, the Waterbook was excellent. It retained pencil in the wet and dry very well, and the sopping conditions had no effect whatsoever on its use. The surveyors were instant converts. Washing the mud off afterwards was easy and left the data very clear. There was none of the problem that some waterproof papers have where the pencil comes off nearly as easily as the mud and water. The physical format is a plastic backboard with a wire binding; the similar Waterbook Memopads are made of the same paper, but would need some kind of support for cave surveying as the books are floppy on their own.