The History of NCR Paper

The History of NCR Carbonless Paper

Carbonless paper has a long history of helping businesses create accurate copies without writing the same information several times. Today, NCR paper is used for printed pads, books and individual sets for invoices, receipts, delivery notes, job sheets and other business forms.

Shop NCR products for custom pads, books and sets, or continue reading to learn how carbonless paper works.

From carbon paper to carbonless forms

Early carbon-copy methods used a separate sheet coated with wax and ink between two sheets of paper. Pressure from writing on the top sheet transferred the information to the sheet below. Historical accounts often associate the development of early carbon-copy methods with Ralph Wedgwood in England and Pellegrino Turri in Italy.

Carbon paper became widely used by businesses during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, allowing invoices, records and other important documents to be copied quickly. It was useful, but the separate carbon sheet could be messy and inconvenient to handle.

NCR stands for No Carbon Required. Modern NCR paper removed the need for a separate carbon sheet by using pressure-sensitive coatings within the paper. When someone writes on the top sheet, the pressure creates a copy on the sheet below.

How does NCR paper work?

The top sheet carries tiny pressure-sensitive ink capsules on its reverse. The next sheet has a receptive coating on its front, and further sheets can carry the coatings needed to create additional copies. When pressure is applied with a pen, the coatings react and reproduce the writing on the following sheet.

This makes it possible to create two-part, three-part and four-part forms in one writing action. Each person can keep the copy they need, making NCR forms useful for both customer-facing paperwork and internal records.

Why businesses still use NCR forms

Invoices and receipts for customers and accounts teams
Delivery notes and proof-of-delivery paperwork
Job sheets and service reports for engineers and tradespeople
Order forms, estimates and quotation records
Meeting notes, inspection forms and other repeat-use documents

Choose the right NCR format

NCR pads are glued together and are convenient for writing through a stack of forms. NCR books are perforated, stapled and bound with a stub when individual pages need to be removed and retained. NCR sets are supplied as individual loose sets when copies need to be handed to different people.

Choose two-part forms for one copy, three-part forms for two copies, or four-part forms when several people or departments need a record. Custom sizes, paper colour sequences, numbering and other options can also be arranged.

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