IPS Facilities
Northeastern Wisconsin's Physical Testing Laboratory
In January 2007, Integrated Paper Services (IPS), Inc., moved into its current 17,000 sq. ft. facility in Appleton, Wisconsin. IPS has six physical testing labs at its current facility, which includes the Special Projects Lab, Paper Testing Lab, Pulp Testing Lab, Fiber Science and Analytical Testing Lab and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Lab.
IPS employs more than 30 scientists and staff to provide testing results to Midwest and the U.S., and even international clients. The laboratory was designed to allow us to deliver cost-effective and high-quality results to our clients in the pulp, paper, nonwovens, health care and allied industries using ISO, ASTM, WSP and TAPPI testing method standards. IPS is very proud of its laboratory and would be happy to tour you through it if you are in the Wisconsin area.
Our physical testing laboratory and headquarters is located at:
IPS Testing Experts
3211 E. Capitol Dr.
Appleton, WI 54911.
Physical Testing Laboratory Areas
At IPS, we have several different areas dedicated to specific types of physical testing. Each laboratory regularly undergoes several quality control measures in order to meet TAPPI, ISO and ASTM testing standards for the paper, pulp, nonwovens, health care and allied industries. Our lab areas are classified into the Special Projects Lab, Paper Testing Lab, Pulp Testing Lab, Fiber Science and Analytical Testing Lab, Image Analysis Lab and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Lab.
This lab is more than 5000 sq. ft. and is maintained at TAPPI standards for environmental conditions (23o C and 50 percent RH). We can perform tests on a wide array of materials and products in this lab, including*: paper and tissue products, nonwoven materials and products, absorbent personal hygiene products (diapers, training pants, adult incontinent products and feminine care products and pads) and medical device (surgical gowns and drapes) testing.
IPS' Paper Testing lab of 700 sq. ft. is maintained at TAPPI environmental conditions (23o C and 50% RH). This lab does more than 60 physical testing for paper, paperboard and printed products, including*: abrasion, absorption, ash, aging, brightness, caliper, cob, color, curl, crush, density, fluorescent, fold, gloss, Hercules size, hydrohead, hygroexpansivity, moisture, opacity, peel, porosity, roughness, resistance, softness, spray impact, stiffness, thermal imaging, and wax pick testing.
The Pulp Testing Lab is 1,300 sq. ft. and does a wide variety of physical tests and bleaching studies for the pulping industry. The Pulp lab can perform tests, including*: ash, beater run, consistency, Deinking, dirt count, fiber length, fines, freeness, handsheets, Kappa/Micro-Kappa/Permanganate Numbers, percent rejects, PFI Mill, repulpability, stickies, and viscosity testing.
The Fiber Science and Analytical Testing groups are co-located in a 3200 sq. ft. lab. They are well equipped to do analytical and fiber testing on paper and nonwoven materials.
Fiber science tests include: Fiber ID, Speck ID, coarseness, microscopic analysis, photomicrography, ash, MorFi Fiber Length, manual fiber length, scanning electron microscope, EDS – elemental analysis, layer purity, wood chip analysis, vessel segmentation destruction, dusting, microtome sectioning, sheet split, crepe tests, Bauer McNett, fines percentage, shive analysis and spot testing.
The Analytical Lab can perform tests including*: Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), atomic absorption, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS), High Performance Liquid Chromatography, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy testing.
The SEM Lab uses a Joel SEM with high-resolution digital photography and image capture. We are able to do back-scatter electron detection and photography as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and elemental identification with magnifications ranging from 25X to 20,000X!
*Not all physical testing capabilities are listed for each lab. Please contact us to see if we can meet your specific testing needs!