Fadeless® Paper was developed in 1960, and is still one of Pacon's most recognized brands. Its true fade-resistance color impressed teachers then, and continues to today.
Even older than Fadeless Paper is Corobuff®. This unique corrugated paper was developed in 1954 by Bob Allen, a Bemiss-Jason sales representative. (In 2002 Pacon acquired Bemiss-Jason and its assets.) Without Corobuff Paper and Bob Allen, the Fadeless brand may not exist.
First, Corobuff
The story goes... One day when Bob was walking through the parking lot of the California office he saw young women digging through the dumpster for paper scraps. At that time Bemiss-Jason was known only for creating industrial corrugated display boxes for food and beer companies. These young women were innovative, creative and resourceful teachers who used the corrugate in their classrooms to cover bulletin boards, as well as to create letters, shapes and other decorations.
Bob was invited to their school to see their classrooms and how the scraps were used. After meeting with the teachers, and hosting several workshops with them, he grew very passionate for the education market. Bob convinced Bemiss-Jason to develop the Corobuff brand for classroom use, and expand the business into the education market.
In addition to joining NSSEA (National School Supply and Equipment Association, now EdMarket), Bob convinced the company to join an organization of art teachers and supervisors called the Pacific Art Association, an extension of the National Art Educators Association (NAEA), and the precursor to the California Art Educators Association. Pacon is still an active member of NAEA and EdMarket today.
So what about Fadeless?
In 1960 Bob Allen separated the front-facing, solid color paper of Corobuff and converted it to 12" x 18" sheets to introduce to the teacher community for testing. Teachers loved the fade-resistant properties of this 50 lb. paper, and so the Fadeless brand was born.
It wasn't until the 1961 - 1962 period that 24" and 48" Fadeless paper rolls were made for bulletin board use. During this time, Bordette® Borders were also introduced to the education market.
Bob Allen continued to work with educators throughout his career, and remained instrumental to Bemiss-Jason until 1977 when he retired.
Below is Bemiss-Jason's display at the NSSEA show in May of 1979. Pictured here is Gordon Case, who was the VP of Sales and Marketing at the time. Gordon later became President of Bemiss-Jason.
Over the years Fadeless has expanded to 28 solid colors, six different roll sizes, printed designs and even Metallic and Premium Glossy finishes. Of course the sheets are still available as well.
"We're always looking at color and design trends as we develop new Fadeless products," said Lori, Pacon's Product Manager for Fadeless. "We've even expanded Fadeless paper beyond the bulletin board, using it on other classroom surfaces, such as doors, walls, cabinets and more."
See more ways to use Fadeless paper on our Decor Gallery page.