[1] Beginning in the 1840s, recycled abacá rope fibers were the main material for manila paper.

papermakers replaced the abacá fibers with wood pulp,[3] which cost less to source and process.

[7] In 1843, papermaker Mark Hollingsworth and his sons John and Lyman obtained a patent "to manufacture paper from manila fibers".

[10] Abacá is an exceptionally strong fibre, nowadays used for special papers like tea bag tissue.

The Guggenheim claims the "colonial government found ways to prevent Filipinos from profiting off of the abaca crops, instead favoring the businesses of American expats and Japanese immigrants, as well as ensuring that the bulk of the abaca harvests were exported to the United States" for use in military initiatives.

Like manila envelopes, folders are traditionally buff, but other colors are occasionally used to differentiate categories of files.

The first incorporates a metal clasp with two prongs, which are put through a reinforced eyelet in the flap and then bent apart to hold, while the other has a cardboard button secured tightly on the flap and a piece of string fastened on the envelope body (or the reverse arrangement) is wound around it to form a closure.