SCAN
SCAN is a Nordic legacy family of test methods used in pulp, paper, board, wood chips, mill liquors, tall oils, and related process waters. These references remain familiar in forest-products laboratories, especially when older specifications, mill methods, or Nordic test programs are still being followed.
The SCAN family spans fibre characterization, laboratory sheet preparation, paper and board physical testing, chip measurement, chemical analysis, and process-control work. For equipment selection, a SCAN citation often points to specialized pulp-and-paper instruments rather than to a general-purpose materials tester alone.
SCAN Test Methods
SCAN-test documents were developed for laboratory work across the pulp, paper, and board sector and for related mill-process measurements. The archived method family includes documents published from the 1960s through 2010 and covers both finished-sheet testing and upstream raw-material or process-control work.
In day-to-day practice, SCAN references still appear in mill procedures, research papers, technical purchasing documents, and comparative testing programs. Some SCAN topics were later withdrawn or redirected toward ISO or EN routes, so the exact designation named in a requirement can matter when selecting equipment, fixtures, and reporting steps.
Quick Definition
SCAN is a Nordic test-method family for pulp, paper, board, wood-chip, liquor, tall-oil, and related mill-laboratory testing. It is best understood as a legacy method system that still shows up in forest-products quality and R&D work.
Why SCAN Test Methods Matter in Testing
SCAN matters because pulp and paper testing is rarely just a single mechanical measurement. A cited SCAN method can imply specific sample preparation, laboratory sheet formation, moisture conditioning, chip classification, wet chemistry, optical testing, or printability work.
That makes correct equipment mapping important for mills, packaging laboratories, board producers, fibre-development teams, and supplier QA groups. When a purchasing document calls out SCAN, the requirement often depends on a particular fixture, instrument geometry, preparation method, or mill-lab workflow.
Common workflows: Pulp fractionation, chip evaluation, wet tensile work, corrugated testing, printability assessment, liquor analysis, and process-water monitoring.
Common buying impact: SCAN references can affect instrument choice, specimen preparation tools, conditioning equipment, calibration items, and software reporting needs.
Common Materials or Application Areas Covered
The SCAN archive covers a broad span of forest-products laboratory work, from raw material input and wet-end process streams to finished paper and board performance.
| Application Area | Typical SCAN Coverage | Common Lab Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Pulps | Mechanical and chemical pulps, fines, fibre fractionation, laboratory sheets | Characterization, preparation, and physical-property support |
| Paper and board | Air permeance, wet tensile, bending, Z-direction, printability, ink absorbency | Product performance and converting-related checks |
| Corrugated materials | Corrugated crush and four-point bending stiffness | Packaging and board-conversion support |
| Wood chips for pulp production | Sampling, size distribution, bark content, basic density, bulk density, thickness, length | Raw-material evaluation and mill intake control |
| Fillers, pigments, and starch | Sampling, particle or slurry checks, viscosity, dry matter, brightness-tablet preparation | Wet-end additive and optical-control support |
| Liquors, process waters, effluents, and tall oils | Alkali, sulphide, dry matter, chlorates, cationic demand, starch, resin-acid and related checks | Process control, recovery-cycle support, and environmental monitoring |
Common Test Types
Across the archive, SCAN methods commonly connect with a practical set of recurring test categories in pulp and paper laboratories.
Fibre characterization: Fibre fractionation, fines content, and laboratory-sheet preparation for downstream measurements.
Paper and board property testing: Wet tensile, bending resistance, air permeance, surface roughness, Z-directional properties, and structural measurements.
Packaging-related tests: Corrugated crush and bending stiffness for board and corrugated materials.
Wood-chip evaluation: Sampling, size distribution, bark content, thickness, length, basic density, and bulk density.
Chemical and elemental analysis: Atomic absorption work, conductometric titration, Kjeldahl-based analysis, and related wet-chemistry procedures.
Process and environmental monitoring: Liquor analysis, process-water measurements, effluent testing, and microbiological examination.
How to Read a SCAN Designation
Most SCAN documents are written as a series prefix plus a method number and year, such as SCAN-CM 46:92 or SCAN-P 70:09. Archive listing pages may show the year in four-digit form, while the document cover commonly uses the shorter year style after the colon.
The series letters group methods by subject area, but the full title still matters because procurement and lab setup depend on the exact workflow named in the document.
| Designation Element | What It Tells You | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SCAN | Method family prefix | SCAN-P 70:09 |
| Series letters | Method grouping, such as pulp-related, paper-and-board, guideline, liquor, water, or tall-oil topics | CM, P, G, N, W, T |
| Method number | The individual document within that series | 46 in SCAN-CM 46:92 |
| Year after colon | Publication or edition year style used on the document cover | :92 or :09 |
| Paired designations | One publication can be issued for more than one series when the topic spans material groups | SCAN-CM 38:2005/SCAN-P 74:2005 |
Series examples in the archive: SCAN-P documents cover many paper and board property methods, SCAN-N documents cover liquor-related mill testing, SCAN-W documents include effluent and process-water topics, SCAN-T documents cover tall oils, and SCAN-G documents include guideline-style support such as statistics and uncertainty.
Featured Standards / Methods / References
The examples below show the range of SCAN work, from pulp characterization and raw-material control to finished paper and board testing.
| Designation | Verified Testing Focus | Likely Equipment Path |
|---|---|---|
| SCAN-CM 6:2005 | Fibre fractionation in the McNett classifier for mechanical and chemical pulps | McNett classifier, wet screening accessories, pulp handling tools |
| SCAN-CM 40:2001 | Size distribution of wood chips for pulp production | Chip screens, sieving accessories, sample handling equipment |
| SCAN-CM 46:1992 | Bulk density of wood chips for pulp production | Balances, bulk-density containers, drying and reporting accessories |
| SCAN-N 22:1996 | Dry matter content and fibre content of black liquor | Oven, balance, filters, stirrers, sample-heating accessories |
| SCAN-P 20:1995 | Wet tensile strength and wet tensile strength retention for papers and boards | Tensile tester, wetting accessories, specimen cutters, conditioning tools |
| SCAN-P 42:1981 | CCT value and CCT index by Corrugated Crush Test | Crush tester, specimen preparation tools, thickness and conditioning support |
| SCAN-P 70:2009 | Ink-absorbency value for papers and boards | Printability or ink-application tools, reflectance measurement, timing accessories |
Standards / Methods by Application Area
Grouping SCAN references by workflow makes it easier to identify the right laboratory path and instrument family.
Pulp characterization: SCAN-CM 6:2005, SCAN-CM 66:2005, SCAN-CM 69:2009, and related laboratory-sheet methods in the C and CM series.
Wood-chip evaluation: SCAN-CM 40:2001, SCAN-CM 41:1994, SCAN-CM 42:2006, SCAN-CM 43:1994, SCAN-CM 46:1992, SCAN-CM 47:1992, and SCAN-CM 48:2001.
Paper and board property testing: SCAN-P 20:1995, SCAN-P 26:1978, SCAN-P 29:1995, SCAN-P 70:2009, SCAN-P 80:1998, SCAN-P 84:2002, SCAN-P 85:2002, SCAN-P 88:2001, SCAN-P 90:2003, and SCAN-P 92:2009.
Printability and surface performance: SCAN-P 36:2002, SCAN-P 70:2009, SCAN-P 78:2002, SCAN-P 79:2002, SCAN-P 86:2002, and SCAN-P 87:2002.
Mill chemistry and environmental monitoring: SCAN-N 2:1988, SCAN-N 22:1996, SCAN-N 30:1985, SCAN-W 10:1993, SCAN-W 12:2004, and SCAN-P 91:2009/SCAN-W 13:2009.
Tall-oil testing: SCAN-T 4:1966, SCAN-T 6:1967, SCAN-T 12:1972, and SCAN-T 14:1978.
Equipment Commonly Used with These Test Methods
SCAN references usually connect with specialized forest-products laboratory equipment. The right setup depends on whether the work is centred on pulp preparation, paper performance, chip control, or process chemistry.
| Equipment Family | Why It Commonly Connects to SCAN | Typical Workflows |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre classifiers and wet screening units | Needed for pulp fractionation and fines-related methods | McNett classification, pulp characterization, fraction collection |
| Sheet formers, presses, dryers, and conditioning equipment | Laboratory-sheet preparation is part of several pulp methods before downstream testing | Sheet making, wet-web preparation, conditioning, physical testing support |
| Paper and board property testers | SCAN-P methods include tensile, crush, bending, and Z-direction measurements | Wet tensile, corrugated crush, stiffness, internal-bond-related work |
| Permeance, roughness, optical, and printability instruments | Surface, air-flow, print, and optical workflows are a major part of SCAN paper testing | Bendtsen or Gurley work, printability checks, ink absorbency, brightness preparation |
| Wood-chip density and dimensional-analysis setups | Chip methods are important for raw-material control ahead of pulping | Size distribution, length and thickness checks, density reporting, bark-content support |
| Chemical-analysis and process-control instruments | Liquor, elemental, starch, microbiology, and water-related methods require wet-chemistry and analytical tools | Titration, AAS work, oven drying, filtration, cationic-demand checks, microbiological examination |
Related Standards Organizations or Related Frameworks
SCAN is commonly encountered alongside other pulp and paper standards systems. These related groups matter when a project compares older Nordic references with current international or regional laboratory practice.
ISO/TC 6: Important for international paper, board, and pulp standards and often relevant when a SCAN topic also has an ISO pathway.
CEN/TC 172: Important for European pulp, paper, and board standardization and for laboratories working to European market requirements.
TAPPI: Important for North American and multinational pulp-and-paper testing programs that compare methods across regions.
Need Help Matching a SCAN Method to the Right Equipment?
If you are working from an older SCAN citation, the practical question is usually which instruments, fixtures, preparation tools, and conditioning steps are needed to run the work correctly. NextGen can help identify the likely equipment family behind a SCAN method so your lab, mill, or purchasing team can scope a more accurate testing setup.