Bill,

I don't want it to sound like it's all hype - there is a very good possibility that these companies are using the term due to some new process at the base level of the fibers or with the way they're measuring or recording things (the nanometer scale). But I think the reason these companies don't say much about exactly what they're doing, and instead just use the term "nanotechnology," is because that sounds much more impressive than the actual fact of what aspect of the technology they're actually employing.

For instance, the new UV cured coating on the cover of RodMaker is currently measured in standard printer's mil thickness. We could switch and use nanometers (1 nanometer equals 1 millionth millimeter) for the measurement and I could say that RodMaker Magazine is now employing nanotechnology in its printing process. It wouldn't be false to say that, although it might be a bit misleading.

Nanotechnology with regard to particulate size and manipulation is expected to be employed in the fiber industry first, so it's also possible that we're seeing at least the very first of its effects there. But again, simply saying that you're employing nanotechnology isn't really saying very much about what you're actually doing.

....................

Tom makes some good points.

The official definition around nanotech is if the size scale of what you are manipulating less than 100nm.