Alex Brown

You are not alone. Publishers are being buffeted by cost increases on all fronts, and while there are no magic wands to wave, we can gather round to share our sorrows and consider a few basic cost-control tactics. The latest blow is a 10-percent to 12-percent increase in ink prices announced by ink suppliers. Printers will differ in their implementation of this, but if yours is delivering bad news in the form of higher prices, you can accept it as a true reflection of the market. The costs of raw materials and freight have indeed affected the selling price of ink. Your printer

THERE’S NO sugar-coating it: the paper market is bleak for buyers. The problems lie in both price and availability, and the forecast has almost no bright spots. Here’s a look at how we got here, what you can do today to cope, and what trends may affect paper purchasing this year and beyond. First, it’s easy to be puzzled about how the paper market could change so abruptly and intensely. Paper buyers have seen the dark clouds massing over the mills for years but little has come of it. Why is it actually raining now? In the last five years, we’ve seen several mill