A piece of stock preparation equipment consisting of a revolving wire-cloth screen used to tumble and clean dry raw materials. It shakes loose dirt, grit, and foreign particles from rags or wastepaper before they enter the pulper. Removing these contaminants early prevents them from being ground into fine dirt specks that would later ruin the optical cleanliness and brightness of the finished sheet.
The rag duster is backing up again, get someone over there to clear the screen.
Mills using virgin wood pulp rarely have dusters, but they are still found in specialty rag mills and some recycled fiber plants.
Related terms
Dirt count
Measure of visible dark specks in pulp or paper, reported as equivalent black area per unit area.
Furnish
The recipe of pulps, fillers, dyes and chemicals that make up a paper grade's stock.
Shive
Small bundle of fibers that were never separated during pulping, seen as a splinter-like speck in paper.