The water absorptivity of corrugating medium is measured by dropping a drop of water on the surface of a specimen and determining the time in seconds for the drop to penetrate through the sheet and wet the lower surface.

This method is applicable to corrugating medium as it is commercially produced by all processes. It is generally applicable to relatively unsized (water leaf) containerboards but may not be applicable to more highly sized boards or to grades produced in different grammage (basis weight) than those normally used in corrugating medium. Alternative methods which can be performed in the same general time period with equal repeatability do not give the same numerical results, but, in general, will rank the materials in the same order as this method.