# Liquid Paper

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Brand of correction fluid

Liquid Paper products at [The Women's Museum](/source/The_Women's_Museum) in Dallas, Texas

**Liquid Paper** is an American [brand](/source/Brand) of the [Newell Brands](/source/Newell_Brands) company marketed internationally that sells [correction fluid](/source/Correction_fluid), [correction pens](/source/Correction_fluid), and [correction tape](/source/Correction_tape).

## Product history

Liquid Paper

In 1956, [Bette Nesmith Graham](/source/Bette_Nesmith_Graham) (mother of future [Monkees](/source/The_Monkees) guitarist [Michael Nesmith](/source/Michael_Nesmith)) invented the first [correction fluid](/source/Correction_fluid) in her kitchen. Working as a typist, she used to make many mistakes and always strove for a way to correct them. Starting on a basis of [tempera](/source/Tempera) [paint](/source/Paint) she mixed with a common [kitchen blender](/source/Blender_(device)), she called the fluid "Mistake Out" and started to provide her co-workers with small bottles on which the brand's name was displayed.[1]

Graham formed the Mistake Out Company in 1956.[2] [3] She developed alternative formulas for quicker drying times and better application brushes. Sales were about 100 bottles per month in 1957; however, they increased fivefold when the correctional liquid appeared in *The Office* magazine, which led to a large corporate order from [General Electric](/source/General_Electric).[4]

Graham was fired from her typist job after she accidentally put her own company’s name on a sheet of her employer’s company letterhead. She subsequently decided to devote all her time to Mistake Out.[5] In 1958, Graham renamed her business the Liquid Paper Company and applied for a [patent and trademark](/source/United_States_Patent_and_Trademark_Office).[6] By 1968, the company "had become a multimillion-dollar organization, breaking ground on a huge business and manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas. LPC scaled internationally and eventually opened offices and manufacturing plants in Canada, England, Belgium and Australia".[2] By 1975, "Liquid Paper was producing 25 million bottles a year and holding a vast share of a multimillion-dollar market that had spawned several competitors, like Wite-Out".[6]

Graham sold Liquid Paper to [Gillette Corporation](/source/Gillette) in 1979.[6][a]

## Acquisition

In 2000, the Liquid Paper product and brand name was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid (later Newell Brands). In some regions of the world, Liquid Paper is endorsed by [Papermate](/source/Papermate), a widely known writing instruments brand also owned by Newell.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Ingredients

A traditionally shaped bottle of Liquid Paper

As of 2009[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liquid_Paper&action=edit), [MSDSs](/source/MSDS) list Liquid Paper as containing [titanium dioxide](/source/Titanium_dioxide), solvent [naphtha](/source/Naphtha), [mineral spirits](/source/Mineral_spirits), [resins](/source/Resins), dispersant, and fragrances.[8]

Liquid Paper came under scrutiny in the 1980s due to concerns over recreational [sniffing](/source/Inhalant). The organic solvent [1,1,1-trichloroethane](/source/1%2C1%2C1-trichloroethane) (TCA) was used as a thinner in the product.[9] Liquid Paper containing TCA was thought to be toxic and [carcinogenic](/source/Carcinogenic), but later studies showed that although the thinner was toxic there was no evidence of carcinogenicity.[10] There were several studies linking fatalities[11][12] to the TCA contained in correction fluids, including Liquid Paper.

In 1989, Gillette reformulated Liquid Paper without TCA in response to a complaint under [California Proposition 65](/source/California_Proposition_65_(1986)).[13][14]

## See also

- [Correction fluid](/source/Correction_fluid)

- [Correction tape](/source/Correction_tape)

- [Pentel](/source/Pentel)

- [Wite-Out](/source/Wite-Out)

- [Tipp-Ex](/source/Tipp-Ex)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** While some sources say Graham sold Liquid Paper for $47.5 million,[7][6] another says she sold it for $48.5 million.[2]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Blattman, Elissa (2013), [*Three Every-day Items Invented by Women*](https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/three-every-day-items-invented-women), National Women's History Museum

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-auto_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-auto_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-auto_2-2) Tarr, Tanya (April 22, 2020). ["How This Former Secretary Built A Multimillion-Dollar Corporation (Without Any Capital)"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyatarr/2020/04/22/how-this-secretary-built-a-multi-million-dollar-corporation-without-any-capital/). *Forbes*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Correcting History: Uncovering Who Invented White Out"](https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-white-out/). *historycooperative.org*. January 18, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:2_4-0)** ["Bette C. Graham, invented paper correction fluid"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-bette-c-graham-invented-paper/179976632/). *The News*. 1980-05-15. p. 77. Retrieved 2025-08-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BetteNesmith_5-0)** ["Bette Nesmith Graham"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071816/http://www.celebratingtexas.com/tr/lsl/94.pdf) (PDF). Celebrating Texas. Archived from [the original](http://www.celebratingtexas.com/tr/lsl/94.pdf) (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-18.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-overlooked_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-overlooked_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-overlooked_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-overlooked_6-3) ["Overlooked No More: Bette Nesmith Graham, Who Invented Liquid Paper"](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/obituaries/bette-nesmith-graham-liquid-paper.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytobits). *The New York Times*. July 11, 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-auto1_7-0)** Pandil-Eaton, Whitney. ["Perseverance, thy name is Bette"](https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/journeys-innovation/historical-stories/perseverance-thy-name-bette). *www.uspto.gov*. Retrieved September 24, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Paper_Mate_Liquid_Paper_Fast_Drying_Correction_Fluid_9-0)** ["Paper Mate Liquid Paper Fast Drying Correction Fluid"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120227085832/http://www.liquidpaper.com/res/Fast%20Drying.pdf) (PDF). *MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET - MSDS #: 56401*. Sanford NA. 2003. Archived from [the original](http://www.liquidpaper.com/res/Fast%20Drying.pdf) (PDF) on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2009-08-18.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-LiquidPaper1985_10-0)** ["Liquid Paper Correction Fluid, White. Material Safety Data Sheet"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100621021044/http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/safety/MSDS/LIQUID%20PAPER%20CORRECTION%20FLUID%20THINNER.htm). Ohio State University College of Biological Sciences. 1 January 1985. Archived from [the original](http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/safety/MSDS/LIQUID%20PAPER%20CORRECTION%20FLUID%20THINNER.htm) on 21 June 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Sullivan, John Burke; Krieger, Gary R. (2001). *Clinical environmental health and toxic exposures*. Philadelphia: [Lippincott Williams & Wilkins](/source/Lippincott_Williams_%26_Wilkins). p. 497. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-683-08027-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-683-08027-8). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [41606485](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/41606485). Trichloroethane generally is less toxic than methylene chloride ... is not teratogenic and carcinogenicity and mutagenicity testing has proven inconclusive.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** King, Gregory S.; Smialek, John E.; Troutman, William G. (15 March 1985). "Sudden Death in Adolescents Resulting From the Inhalation of Typewriter Correction Fluid". *JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association*. **253** (11): 1604–6. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1001/jama.253.11.1604](https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjama.253.11.1604). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [3974043](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3974043). We describe four cases of sudden death in adolescents associated with recreational sniffing of typewriter correction fluid occurring during the period 1979 through mid-1984.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** D'costa, DF; Gunasekera, NP (August 1990). ["Fatal cerebral oedema following trichloroethane abuse"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1292788). *Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine*. **83** (8): 533–534. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/014107689008300823](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F014107689008300823). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [1292788](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1292788). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [2231588](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2231588).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Paddock, Richard C. (29 September 1989). ["Gillette Agrees to Remove Toxics From Its Paper Correction Fluid"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-29-mn-252-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. Sacramento. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120715051020/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-29/news/mn-252_1_liquid-paper-correction-fluid) from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Estrin, Norman F.; Akerson, James M. (2000). ["Proposition 65"](https://books.google.com/books?id=O8z3Nn9HzKIC&pg=PA138). *Cosmetic regulation in a competitive environment*. New York, New York: [Marcel Dekker](/source/Marcel_Dekker). p. 138. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8247-7516-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8247-7516-2). Retrieved 23 July 2009. Gillette agreed to reformulate the product so that it would not pose a risk requiring a Proposition 65 warning

## External links

- [Newell Rubbermaid official website](http://www.newellrubbermaid.com/)

- [Papermate US website](http://www.papermate.com/)

- [Official Web site](https://web.archive.org/web/20060804095845/http://liquidpaper.com/)

- [Liquid Paper on inventors.about.com](https://archive.today/20120712050653/http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blliquid_paper.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Liquid Paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Paper) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Paper?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.