This wax coating prevented sticking and cross-staining when the works were rolled up, and made the paper thinner and more resistant to tearing. Dozens of calligraphic works and paintings could thus be rolled up together and accompany their owners as they fled for their lives.
塗臘可使字畫捲收時畫面不沾黏、不沾髒，而且紙質變得薄而緊實後，折疊時畫作也不會龜裂，如此一來，數十張字畫就可輕易捲成一綑，戰亂時隨身帶著逃命。