Consumables-Paper - Offset

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

HAMILTON, OH—May 13, 2008—SMART Papers has begun construction on a new $30 million high-efficiency energy co-generation facility at its manufacturing center here that marks an important first for the North American papermaking industry. By early 2009, SMART Papers will produce all of its own power and begin a transition to 100% cellulosic biomass fuel. By late 2009, all products will be fully carbon neutral and produced 100% fossil fuel free, company officials said. SMART Papers, which makes premium coated and uncoated printing papers for businesses and consumers, including Fortune 500 companies, said its products will be carbon-neutral because its manufacturing center will be powered

MONTREAL—April 9, 2008—Domtar Corp. announced today that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its text, cover and writing product line of papers to SMART Papers of Hamilton, Ohio, an independent manufacturer and marketer of premium cast-coated, matte-coated and uncoated printing papers. Closing is scheduled for April 21, 2008. Domtar grades designated by this agreement are Solutions®, Feltweave®, Nekoosa® Linen, Nekoosa® Bond, Nekoosa® 25% Cotton, Proterra® and Skytone®. SMART Papers will begin to process orders for these products as of the scheduled closing date. “With this latest transaction, Domtar continues to reinforce its focus as the North American market

TORONTO—February 25, 2008—Participants in a unique study of bird populations that is expected to improve forestry practices in Canada’s Acadian forests have received the first-ever Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) Leadership in Conservation Research Award. SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow presented the award today to UPM-Kymmene Inc., a global leader in magazine paper production; Time Inc., the world’s largest magazine publisher; the Université de Moncton; the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources; The Nature Conservancy of Canada, and Bird Studies Canada. “This is a truly unique project involving the landowner, academics, conservation groups, forest companies and the customer, all committed to using

ARCDALE, NC—JANUARY 14, 2008—Vecoplan, a worldwide leader in size reduction technology, introduces the RG 70-S industrial shredder. Designed specifically for processing paper and plastic waste for reclamation and recycling, large extruder purgings, large reject parts, trim scraps, baled or loose film, synthetic fiber, carpet, wood processing scrap, medical waste, and cardboard. The RG 70-S features a larger rotor diameter and taller feed ram that dramatically improves the throughput and overall processing efficiency of bulky scrap materials, and other large dimension waste products. The RG 70-S features true dump and run operation, so entire containers of waste can be fed into its hopper. The hopper,

“IT’S NOT that easy being green,” sang Kermit the Frog in “The Sesame Street Book and Record.” But more than 35 years after Kermit’s song debuted, it’s not only easier to be “green,” it’s actually cool to make green choices and acquire green products. A broader environmental awareness from corporations and consumers has pushed advancements in green technology despite the significant investment, research and innovation required to develop green products. Companies are sourcing paper from suppliers dedicated to sustainable forest management and offering multipurpose papers with up to 100 percent post-consumer recycled content. One of these companies is Xerox, which happens to be

ABOUT A year ago, one of my clients came to me and said he wanted me to help his company get FSC certified. My response was F-S—WHAT? That was the start of a journey that has led me to become somewhat of a specialist in the relatively new world—for printers at least—of sourcing from well-managed forests. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, like many, I knew about recycled content, federal guidelines for its use, and a few other environmental paper-related preferences such as acid-free options. But I never gave much thought to virgin fiber or the forests from which they were sourced.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA—12/13/07—A stellar group of leaders in the graphic arts industry will be speaking on issues related to sustainability in business at the “The Business of Green Media” conference planned for Jan. 24 at Cal Poly. The conference, intended particularly for the graphic arts industry, will take an in-depth look at current developments, state and federal regulations, and other conditions directly related to the “greening” of the printing industry. The conference will open with a keynote address by Don Carli, senior research fellow at The Institute for Sustainable Communication. He will speak on “Sustainability, Climate Change and the Evolution of Greener Graphic Communication Supply

AbitibiBowater plans to permanently close four paper mills and suspend operations at others. These actions will reportedly result in the loss of about 2,600 jobs as the company vies to save $375 million by 2009. The move by the newly formed company—created by the merger of Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater Inc.—will lower its newsprint and commercial printing paper production capacity by about one million metric tons annually. Three of the mills to be permanently closed are located in Canada: Shawinigan, Quebec; Dalhoisie, New Brunswick; and Thunder Bay, Ontario. The fourth is in Lufkin, TX. Production is being halted indefinitely at mills in Donnacona, Quebec; and Mackenzie, British Columbia.