Boise Paper Solutions

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.

A digital print job is only as good as the paper used. To ensure you are getting the most out of your digital print jobs, IPG spoke with industry suppliers, who shared some important tips. Identifying Quality Paper Formation, which is the uniformity of fiber distribution, affects a paper’s strength, runnability, consistency in caliper and print performance. Hold a sheet of paper up to the light and observe the uniformity. Paper with poor formation will have an inconsistent, splotchy appearance. Copy paper should be lightweight with a degree of opacity so that it will move through the photocopier rollers easily, and neither curl nor become brittle

YOUR CUSTOMERS are concerned about the environment. Many of them, in fact, would be happy to pay extra to read publications printed on recycled paper. According to a recent survey by the Green Press Initiative, Book Business magazine and Co-Op America, 80 percent of book/magazine purchasers said they would be willing to pay more for reading material printed on recycled stock. Paper manufacturers have been striving to address their customers’ environmental concerns by producing more papers with recycled content, and using pulp from sustainable, responsibly managed forests. They are also showing their environmental concern in other ways: by using wind-generated electricity for manufacturing