Why Are Legal Writing Pads Yellow

The origin of paper in legal form is somewhat murky. One possibility is to use 17 «x22» shapes to print paper during the period when Henry VIII was able to print paper. He was King of England. It was the largest size that could be easily transported. These sheets were known as fools` caps, which lawyers cut in half for their official documents, resulting in a 17 «x11» sheet of paper. This was eventually reduced to the smaller legal format we use today. However, despite the proliferation of digital banknotes, it seems unlikely that yellow paper will disappear completely. Click here for our selection of premium legal blocks. True, the shade of a yellow notepad differs from a sea of white, and it is possible that the color was chosen precisely for this purpose. A subjective study of Switzerland from 2005 shows that yellow is one of the most stimulating colors. It was ranked number one behind the red. Considering that it would be much more difficult to read something written on a piece of red paper, it is possible that yellow was chosen to make you think.

Well, in ancient times, cheap paper remnants were not bleached with a slight shade of yellow or pink color. Lawyers needed a lot of paper to track different cases, take notes, write drafts, etc. So they had to use a lot of paper for their work, and spending a lot of money on high-quality paper is not a wise thing to do from a financial point of view. Therefore, lawyers began to use custom legal blocks with yellow colors, and such notepads quickly became widespread. The first batches of towels sold so well that Holley quit his job at the factory and started his own company – Ampad or American Pad and Paper Company – to collect leftovers from local factories and make and sell his towels. His business still exists, and they still make notepads in a variety of sizes and shapes. And colors. Add this writing on a sheet of yellow paper and make sure you don`t spill your juice on this thing.

When we grow up and finally have access to the magic yellow block, we feel like we`re doing something important. This confidence in our own importance can only be the reason why some of our best work is done on these pads. According to legend, Thomas Holley invented the first legal stamp in 1888. Some reports are from a little later – probably after Holley`s time. This includes the belief that yellow is easier on the eyes because it doesn`t produce as much glare as white, and so yellow paper was the obvious way to go. The legal block was invented around 1888 by a paper mill worker, Thomas Holley, in Massachusetts. Holley came up with the idea of picking up the tons of leftover paper from the back of the factory and sewing them together into blocks of paper. The most well-known feature of a legal block? The color yellow.

But why are they yellow? Good question. In order to answer them, however, a brief explanation of their history is first necessary. In 1888, a young man named Thomas Holly was working in a paper mill in Massachusetts. At the end of each day, he and his colleagues had to pick up all the pieces of paper and throw them away. The enterprising guy got tired of doing this and decided to tie those scraps together and cut the edges for compliance. He sold these newly created notebooks to the general public. They are used every day and not just by lawyers. Legal blocking has been around for over 100 years and is still popular despite controversy over recycling and attempts to spoof it through spiral-shaped notebooks and digital notepads. But why are legal towels yellow? And why are they called legal notebooks? Lawyers were the biggest clients of Holly`s notepads, which is not surprising given that they used more paper than any other profession in the late 18th century. The individual waste papers Holly collected were made of high-quality paper, which lawyers needed because they had to keep their papers for many years.

It also gave them the freedom to use a variety of writing tools. MS. SNIDER: Well, I think there are several things. First of all, it`s just a beautiful object. It`s already perfect. It`s like Pencil No. 2. It`s a classic.

It`s cheap and you can`t use it like a child. I think it`s the adult version of writing paper we used when we were kids. Several studies have attempted to prove that reading on colored paper is more effective, but the results have been inconsistent and are usually done with those with existing reading problems. A psychology professor at Brooklyn College reportedly said that the contrast of ink is more important than the color of paper, though he acknowledges that yellow might be more legible. «If the light is too bright, the paper can be dazzling and yellow reduces the glare,» Abramov said in a 2005 interview with Suzanne Snider in Legal Affairs. One of the main distinguishing features of the Legal Pad is the fact that it has specific margins. The American Pad and Paper Company claims that the edges of a typical legal block contain a 1.25-inch gap on the left side of the paper. Since their founding in Massachusetts in 1888, Ampad`s legal pads have evolved from a simple tampon with a stitched top to stapled, rubberized, or spiral-bound varieties in various ways. Color options range from yellow to white and lavender to green. They are available in dozens of sizes and quantities. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

A simple search on the website Staples.com returns 287 results, all of which are different permutations of that first pad 132 years ago. Holley then went on to start a company that made these substandard towels. And the Legal Pad was born. The first stamps Holley sold were actually white. And no one knows why. Another idea is that, because the papers were mostly made up of different pieces of paper, the yellow color was added to create the illusion that the sheets were a uniform piece. Yellow was perhaps the simplest and cheapest stamp on the market, always close to the color white. BRAND: You know, I have a legal block here, and I have to admit that this isn`t the most comfortable article because, above all, it`s too big. The sides are, shall we say, not very firmly attached to the top. It`s not — I don`t know — as compact as I`d like it to be in a pad of paper, then. MS.

SNIDER: Well, that`s interesting, because the Legal Pad has enemies, apart from all the loyalists I mentioned. In 1982, Chief Justice Warren Burger banned legal-sized documents from federal courts. There was also a movement in Florida called Elimination Legal Files, or ELF. That was his acronym. There are a few competing hypotheses about how the pads then turned yellow, but none can be verified and no one seems to know when the pads first came out in color. One origin story suggests that yellow contrasts well with black ink without glare, making the text easier to read. Or that from a psychological point of view, «yellow is a great color to stimulate mental activity,» so writing on yellow notepads could boost your creativity or clarity. BlumbergExcelsior offers only the best bay pads in the blind industry.

The Bay Pads are connected with extra thick binder cardboard (80 points). The buffer material is 50% recycled, 30% post-consumer waste, without crushed wood with a brightness of 92. They cost much more to produce than commercially available towels. A variety of writing instruments can be used without blotter and excessive absorption. Blumberg also offers customization with a choice of 3 sheet colors and 5 band colors, court decision and numbering, and three sizes with or without cut. Ms. SNIDER: There are many people who follow: Jeff Tweedy from Wilco; Elmore Leonard. I have spoken to many authors. Jonathan Dee is a writer.

He wrote four novels on legal notepads, using up to 12 notepads per novel. And many people will use nothing but a yellow legal block. The Legal Pad began in 1888 with Thomas Holley. Holley was 24 years old and worked at a paper mill in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Every day, he and his staff threw many pieces of scrap metal, called sorts, that remained from the cutting of the paper into the right sheets. He knew there had to be a use for them and eventually came up with the idea of cutting the types to the same size and linking them into small notepads. Since the paper was essentially trash for the factory, they were able to sell the tampons at a low price. She says it`s a perfect, classic and cheap object. Another reason she cites is that we are not normally allowed to use them as children.