AbitibiBowater Inc., one of the largest newsprint manufacturers in North America, said it plans to close four paper mills, idle operations at others.
The Montreal-based company, formed last month from the merger of
Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Inc., said the production changes, which will take place during the first quarter of next year, will lower its newsprint and commercial printing paper production capacity by about 1 million metric tons per year.
The mills slated for permanent closure are Belgo, Dalhousie, Fort William and Lufkin. One paper machine at the company's Gatineau facility in Quebec will also be permanently shut down. All but the Belgo and Dalhousie facilities previously stood idle; the idled operations had a combined capacity of 650,000 metric tons.
AbitibiBowater also plans to indefinitely idle two Canadian paper mills, the Donnacona and Mackenzie, as well as two sawmills tied to paper production at the Mackenzie facility.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Newton Falls Mill Resumes Coated Paper Production
Newton Falls Fine Paper has begun paper production at the former St. Lawrence mill in Newton Falls, NY, which was previously owned by Belkorp Industries subsidiary Newstech.
PM 4 at the two-machine mill was restarted Sept. 7 and is making upwards of 80,000 tons/yr of 45 lb to 103 lb matte coated paper for book and commercial printing end uses such as catalogs and direct mail. A restart for PM 3 has yet to be slated.
The 150,000 tons/yr Newton Falls mill had been shuttered for seven years, but was so well maintained that it was making saleable paper within 36 hours of resuming operations.
PM 4 at the two-machine mill was restarted Sept. 7 and is making upwards of 80,000 tons/yr of 45 lb to 103 lb matte coated paper for book and commercial printing end uses such as catalogs and direct mail. A restart for PM 3 has yet to be slated.
The 150,000 tons/yr Newton Falls mill had been shuttered for seven years, but was so well maintained that it was making saleable paper within 36 hours of resuming operations.
The Top 10 Challenges of Digital Printing
By Peter Renton the founder of Lightning Labels Inc
Digital label printing is no longer some exotic technology that belongs more to the future of label printing than the present. HP Indigo, the leading digital label press manufacturer, recently reported more than 500 press installations worldwide. The company is now one of the top three label press manufacturers in terms of unit sales. In the last two years the number of HP installed presses has doubled and the number of labels printed has quadrupled.
With this kind of success it is fair to say that digital label printing has become mainstream. However, this doesn’t mean that going digital does not present its own unique challenges. This article will discuss some of these challenges and how to deal with them. It will focus on the HP Indigo technology because that is the leading player in this field, although today there are several other choices if you are considering a digital press.
1. Getting business
Whether you have a digital press, a flexo, gravure, screen, or offset press, the most important challenge is always to make sure you have enough profitable business to fill the press time. The additional challenge with digital is that because of its slower print speed you need to focus on the shorter runs. No doubt you will be relying on your sales people to leverage your existing customers, but you will probably need a plan to get business from new customers as well. The good news is that there are many more businesses out there looking for short run labels than long runs, but you need a good sales plan that focuses on these smaller companies in order to get this business.
2. Putting new systems in place
Another huge challenge is how to integrate digital printing into an existing converting operation. If you use exactly the same systems as you do with your flexo press you will be wasting time and resources. The challenge is to implement new systems from sales and customer service all the way through to rewinding and shipping. Digital printing by its very nature is a more lean manufacturing process; there are fewer steps involved in production and less waste. If you are taking more than a week to turn around your digital printing orders, then you either need more capacity or you have too much waste in your system.
3. Substrates
You cannot run just any substrate through an HP press; most substrates have to be specially coated before the ink will adhere properly. This is not the issue it once was, because most of the major substrate vendors now have several different choices of material coated for the HP presses. Of course, there is always the option for you to coat the material yourself on an existing flexo press, but that is more challenging than you might think. Different materials require different coatings and there is a lot of trial and error involved before coming up with the right formula. Another alternative is to outsource the coating to a company that specializes in it. Masterpiece Graphix in St. Louis is HP’s only certified North American treatment center for coating material, and you can have them coat pretty much any material that you can run through an HP press.
4. Finding the right people
If you expect a flexo operator to jump in and operate an HP press with ease you will be sorely disappointed. HP provides two weeks of operator training at the end of which time your operator should be able to print labels and replace consumables just fine. The challenge he or she will face is in resolving problems (see point 7). It takes a great deal of experience to know just what is really causing the print problems you will inevitably experience. As for what kind of person makes the best operator, there is some debate among HP users. A flexo operator who is good with new technology would work well, but other shops prefer a prepress person who has some mechanical skill. Either type of person should work, but it will be a long learning curve for someone who has little experience with either prepress or press operation.
5. Managing color
As with all presses, managing color is a constant issue on a digital press. The ws4500 press is the best press HP has ever produced as far as repeatability of color, but there will still be some issues. It is important to maintain a consistent operating environment. These presses work best with a constant temperature of around 70°F and a humidity of 40 to 50 percent. If you stray too far from these settings you will get color problems. As with any four color process press, matching a PMS is always a challenge, but HP provides an optional six color process solution called Indichrome (CMYK plus orange and violet) that helps match the majority of PMS colors very closely. The biggest challenge for flexo shops will always be matching color between the digital and flexo presses. Prepress tools from Esko can help with this process, but with two totally different printing technologies matching color exactly will often be very difficult.
6. Integrating with finishing
There are plenty of finishing options available today for the HP presses. You have three excellent solutions that are provided by AB Graphic, Rotoflex and Delta, and these vendors continue to improve their presses. Keeping the diecutting registration is the biggest challenge even with these new presses, and if you have mainly very short runs, swapping dies in and out will slow down your productivity. Also, HP Indigo inks are not particularly durable so you should plan on adding a UV varnish or laminate to most of your labels.
7. Troubleshooting press problems
Why is the press running a little heavy in magenta? What is causing the white spots on these labels? Why is there banding in the dark blue colors? Why can’t I match the proof I printed yesterday? There are literally dozens of possibilities to each of these typical press problems. And these problems can drive inexperienced press operators crazy. There is no substitute for experience, and an experienced operator can look at a problem and know the most likely cause. Online user forums such as DICE (Digital Imaging Customer Exchange) and DSCOOP (Digital Solutions Cooperative run by HP) can be really valuable for helping to troubleshoot problems if your operator is stumped. You can search through the archives for your problem and often find a solution on the spot. Or you can post a question to the group and often get a response within minutes.
8. Press maintenance
You can avoid many of the press problems mentioned above by maintaining your digital press properly. To print consistently well, HP digital presses need rigorous maintenance. There are blankets that need changing at least every 50,000 impressions or so, and the photo imaging plate or PIP (the plate that takes the lasered image) also needs to be changed regularly. If you push either of these components your print quality will start to decline. There is a regular maintenance schedule for dozens of other parts that needs to be adhered to as well. Also, adhesive buildup throughout the press can become an issue if it is not cleaned regularly. The challenge comes when you are very busy and it is tempting to skimp on maintenance, but in the long run this will only cause more total downtime.
9. Got database knowledge?
The ability to print variable data is one of the main benefits of digital printing. But to take advantage of all of the capabilities that this provides you need to have someone who knows databases very well. The HP press takes a CSV file as the input database file (which every database program can export to) so you have lots of choices here. Microsoft Excel is the standard here, most of us have it on our PCs and it is easy to get help if you have a problem.
Here are a couple of typical database challenges. A customer may request consecutive labels from A00001 to A19999, but with the even numbers all on one roll and the odd numbers all on another roll. Or it might be that the even numbers repeat three times, and the odd numbers only repeat twice. And the requests can get much more complex than that. You need to be able to set up the database so the variable data job will run both efficiently and correctly — keeping in mind that an error in a sequential run will often force you to repeat the whole job to achieve the required result.
10. Dealing with inexperienced customers
Most label converters have to deal with some unsophisticated or unknowledgeable customers, but when dealing with customers who want only a few hundred labels you are more likely to come across this in your digital printing operation. It is a constant challenge, and one that involves a lot of education by your prepress operators.
We have a document on our web site that points out the most common artwork problems, but we still have to deal with missing fonts, RGB files and low resolution JPEGs every day. We take the time to educate the customer, so when they come back we can get high quality files and go straight to press. Similarly, your sales force and customer service staff have to become adept at dealing with “first timers” who have no knowledge of printing in general, let alone the intricacies unique to labels.
There are plenty of other challenges that haven’t been mentioned here, but these are the main issues that everyone will have to deal with in their digital printing operation. None of these challenges are insurmountable and with an experienced staff you might find some don’t come into play much at all. Digital printing continues to make advances with each new generation of machines eliminating some of the challenges of the previous generation. By being aware of and dealing with the challenges that do exist, you can take advantage of the many benefits that digital printing provides.
Digital label printing is no longer some exotic technology that belongs more to the future of label printing than the present. HP Indigo, the leading digital label press manufacturer, recently reported more than 500 press installations worldwide. The company is now one of the top three label press manufacturers in terms of unit sales. In the last two years the number of HP installed presses has doubled and the number of labels printed has quadrupled.
With this kind of success it is fair to say that digital label printing has become mainstream. However, this doesn’t mean that going digital does not present its own unique challenges. This article will discuss some of these challenges and how to deal with them. It will focus on the HP Indigo technology because that is the leading player in this field, although today there are several other choices if you are considering a digital press.
1. Getting business
Whether you have a digital press, a flexo, gravure, screen, or offset press, the most important challenge is always to make sure you have enough profitable business to fill the press time. The additional challenge with digital is that because of its slower print speed you need to focus on the shorter runs. No doubt you will be relying on your sales people to leverage your existing customers, but you will probably need a plan to get business from new customers as well. The good news is that there are many more businesses out there looking for short run labels than long runs, but you need a good sales plan that focuses on these smaller companies in order to get this business.
2. Putting new systems in place
Another huge challenge is how to integrate digital printing into an existing converting operation. If you use exactly the same systems as you do with your flexo press you will be wasting time and resources. The challenge is to implement new systems from sales and customer service all the way through to rewinding and shipping. Digital printing by its very nature is a more lean manufacturing process; there are fewer steps involved in production and less waste. If you are taking more than a week to turn around your digital printing orders, then you either need more capacity or you have too much waste in your system.
3. Substrates
You cannot run just any substrate through an HP press; most substrates have to be specially coated before the ink will adhere properly. This is not the issue it once was, because most of the major substrate vendors now have several different choices of material coated for the HP presses. Of course, there is always the option for you to coat the material yourself on an existing flexo press, but that is more challenging than you might think. Different materials require different coatings and there is a lot of trial and error involved before coming up with the right formula. Another alternative is to outsource the coating to a company that specializes in it. Masterpiece Graphix in St. Louis is HP’s only certified North American treatment center for coating material, and you can have them coat pretty much any material that you can run through an HP press.
4. Finding the right people
If you expect a flexo operator to jump in and operate an HP press with ease you will be sorely disappointed. HP provides two weeks of operator training at the end of which time your operator should be able to print labels and replace consumables just fine. The challenge he or she will face is in resolving problems (see point 7). It takes a great deal of experience to know just what is really causing the print problems you will inevitably experience. As for what kind of person makes the best operator, there is some debate among HP users. A flexo operator who is good with new technology would work well, but other shops prefer a prepress person who has some mechanical skill. Either type of person should work, but it will be a long learning curve for someone who has little experience with either prepress or press operation.
5. Managing color
As with all presses, managing color is a constant issue on a digital press. The ws4500 press is the best press HP has ever produced as far as repeatability of color, but there will still be some issues. It is important to maintain a consistent operating environment. These presses work best with a constant temperature of around 70°F and a humidity of 40 to 50 percent. If you stray too far from these settings you will get color problems. As with any four color process press, matching a PMS is always a challenge, but HP provides an optional six color process solution called Indichrome (CMYK plus orange and violet) that helps match the majority of PMS colors very closely. The biggest challenge for flexo shops will always be matching color between the digital and flexo presses. Prepress tools from Esko can help with this process, but with two totally different printing technologies matching color exactly will often be very difficult.
6. Integrating with finishing
There are plenty of finishing options available today for the HP presses. You have three excellent solutions that are provided by AB Graphic, Rotoflex and Delta, and these vendors continue to improve their presses. Keeping the diecutting registration is the biggest challenge even with these new presses, and if you have mainly very short runs, swapping dies in and out will slow down your productivity. Also, HP Indigo inks are not particularly durable so you should plan on adding a UV varnish or laminate to most of your labels.
7. Troubleshooting press problems
Why is the press running a little heavy in magenta? What is causing the white spots on these labels? Why is there banding in the dark blue colors? Why can’t I match the proof I printed yesterday? There are literally dozens of possibilities to each of these typical press problems. And these problems can drive inexperienced press operators crazy. There is no substitute for experience, and an experienced operator can look at a problem and know the most likely cause. Online user forums such as DICE (Digital Imaging Customer Exchange) and DSCOOP (Digital Solutions Cooperative run by HP) can be really valuable for helping to troubleshoot problems if your operator is stumped. You can search through the archives for your problem and often find a solution on the spot. Or you can post a question to the group and often get a response within minutes.
8. Press maintenance
You can avoid many of the press problems mentioned above by maintaining your digital press properly. To print consistently well, HP digital presses need rigorous maintenance. There are blankets that need changing at least every 50,000 impressions or so, and the photo imaging plate or PIP (the plate that takes the lasered image) also needs to be changed regularly. If you push either of these components your print quality will start to decline. There is a regular maintenance schedule for dozens of other parts that needs to be adhered to as well. Also, adhesive buildup throughout the press can become an issue if it is not cleaned regularly. The challenge comes when you are very busy and it is tempting to skimp on maintenance, but in the long run this will only cause more total downtime.
9. Got database knowledge?
The ability to print variable data is one of the main benefits of digital printing. But to take advantage of all of the capabilities that this provides you need to have someone who knows databases very well. The HP press takes a CSV file as the input database file (which every database program can export to) so you have lots of choices here. Microsoft Excel is the standard here, most of us have it on our PCs and it is easy to get help if you have a problem.
Here are a couple of typical database challenges. A customer may request consecutive labels from A00001 to A19999, but with the even numbers all on one roll and the odd numbers all on another roll. Or it might be that the even numbers repeat three times, and the odd numbers only repeat twice. And the requests can get much more complex than that. You need to be able to set up the database so the variable data job will run both efficiently and correctly — keeping in mind that an error in a sequential run will often force you to repeat the whole job to achieve the required result.
10. Dealing with inexperienced customers
Most label converters have to deal with some unsophisticated or unknowledgeable customers, but when dealing with customers who want only a few hundred labels you are more likely to come across this in your digital printing operation. It is a constant challenge, and one that involves a lot of education by your prepress operators.
We have a document on our web site that points out the most common artwork problems, but we still have to deal with missing fonts, RGB files and low resolution JPEGs every day. We take the time to educate the customer, so when they come back we can get high quality files and go straight to press. Similarly, your sales force and customer service staff have to become adept at dealing with “first timers” who have no knowledge of printing in general, let alone the intricacies unique to labels.
There are plenty of other challenges that haven’t been mentioned here, but these are the main issues that everyone will have to deal with in their digital printing operation. None of these challenges are insurmountable and with an experienced staff you might find some don’t come into play much at all. Digital printing continues to make advances with each new generation of machines eliminating some of the challenges of the previous generation. By being aware of and dealing with the challenges that do exist, you can take advantage of the many benefits that digital printing provides.
Pulp Prices are Continuing to Increase
Paper mills haven’t kept pace with inflation according to Tom Stundza of Purchasing Magazine.
Pulp prices, which have been rising monthly since March 2006, and they will increase again in December. But, if the pattern holds, buyers at paper mills won’t pay the full $30/metric ton increases all at once. The new price hikes have been announced by Fraser Papers, Pope & Talbot and Marubeni Pulp & Paper North America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Aracruz, the world’s largest market pulp producer, has informed customers worldwide that it will increase bleached eucalyptus pulp prices $30/metric ton. The increase would bring Aracruz’s bleached eucalyptus price to $805/metric ton in North America, $780 in Europe and $720 in Asia.
The problem for paper mills is that price increases haven’t kept pace with raw materials increases. While the pulp price index tracked by Purchasing data.com has increased by 39% from January 2006 to November 2007, the paper price index has inflated by just 10%.
Pulp prices, which have been rising monthly since March 2006, and they will increase again in December. But, if the pattern holds, buyers at paper mills won’t pay the full $30/metric ton increases all at once. The new price hikes have been announced by Fraser Papers, Pope & Talbot and Marubeni Pulp & Paper North America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Aracruz, the world’s largest market pulp producer, has informed customers worldwide that it will increase bleached eucalyptus pulp prices $30/metric ton. The increase would bring Aracruz’s bleached eucalyptus price to $805/metric ton in North America, $780 in Europe and $720 in Asia.
The problem for paper mills is that price increases haven’t kept pace with raw materials increases. While the pulp price index tracked by Purchasing data.com has increased by 39% from January 2006 to November 2007, the paper price index has inflated by just 10%.
Pulp Prices are Continuing to Increase
Paper mills haven’t kept pace with inflation according to Tom Stundza of
Pulp prices, which have been rising monthly since March 2006, will increase again in December. But, if the pattern holds, buyers at paper mills won’t pay the full $30/metric ton increases all at once. The new price hikes have been announced by Fraser Papers, Pope & Talbot and Marubeni Pulp & Paper North America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Aracruz, the world’s largest market pulp producer, has informed customers worldwide that it will increase bleached eucalyptus pulp prices $30/metric ton. The increase would bring Aracruz’s bleached eucalyptus price to $805/metric ton in North America, $780 in Europe and $720 in Asia.
The problem for paper mills is that price increases haven’t kept pace with raw materials increases. While the pulp price index tracked by Purchasingdata.com has increased by 39% from January 2006 to November 2007, the paper price index has inflated by just 10%.
Pulp prices, which have been rising monthly since March 2006, will increase again in December. But, if the pattern holds, buyers at paper mills won’t pay the full $30/metric ton increases all at once. The new price hikes have been announced by Fraser Papers, Pope & Talbot and Marubeni Pulp & Paper North America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Aracruz, the world’s largest market pulp producer, has informed customers worldwide that it will increase bleached eucalyptus pulp prices $30/metric ton. The increase would bring Aracruz’s bleached eucalyptus price to $805/metric ton in North America, $780 in Europe and $720 in Asia.
The problem for paper mills is that price increases haven’t kept pace with raw materials increases. While the pulp price index tracked by Purchasingdata.com has increased by 39% from January 2006 to November 2007, the paper price index has inflated by just 10%.
Highlights from Deutsche Bank Session on Paper Industry
* Highlights from Ohio investor trip
Deutsche Bank recently sponsored an Ohio investor trip. We visited a variety of public & private companies, all in the paper & packaging sector. The companies visited on our tour included: Glatfelter, Greif, NewPage and Sonoco. Summary comments are found below.
* Glatfelter – Chillicothe leverage could exceed current targetsAfter struggling during the first 9-12 months of ownership, GLT appears to be putting Chillicothe on track. While the Chilicothe complex is large and sprawling with several older buildings, the core machines are relatively large and appear well-maintained. The
mill has absorbed $550MM of invested capital since 1990. The mill is well-positioned from a fiber cost/supply standpoint.
* NewPage – Duties and currency could restructure global coated industry
NewPage has successfully pressed antidumping claims against Asian coated paper producers. NewPage will file antidumping claims against the Europeans. When coupled with FX moves, the European anti-dumping case could accelerate a restructuring of the entire global coated paper sector.
Deutsche Bank recently sponsored an Ohio investor trip. We visited a variety of public & private companies, all in the paper & packaging sector. The companies visited on our tour included: Glatfelter, Greif, NewPage and Sonoco. Summary comments are found below.
* Glatfelter – Chillicothe leverage could exceed current targetsAfter struggling during the first 9-12 months of ownership, GLT appears to be putting Chillicothe on track. While the Chilicothe complex is large and sprawling with several older buildings, the core machines are relatively large and appear well-maintained. The
mill has absorbed $550MM of invested capital since 1990. The mill is well-positioned from a fiber cost/supply standpoint.
* NewPage – Duties and currency could restructure global coated industry
NewPage has successfully pressed antidumping claims against Asian coated paper producers. NewPage will file antidumping claims against the Europeans. When coupled with FX moves, the European anti-dumping case could accelerate a restructuring of the entire global coated paper sector.
Uncoated Groundwood Prices still up
Uncoated Groundwood specialty grades are those grades that are produced with mechanical fiber and are of lighter quality than simple newsprint. The brightness is typically higher than 65 ISO; it is smoother than newsprint, heavier in weight and has some special characteristics such as higher bulk. This grade can end up being used for preprinted newspaper inserts, direct mail flyers, catalogues, magazines, Sunday newspaper magazines, paperback book paper, and telephone books.
The total North American capacity for producing these grades is at 6.7million tons. Although demand has been fairly flat the past few years, capacity has been taken out of the market and therefore with less supply pricing remains firm. The supercalender portion of the market enjoys excellent demand.
Top North American producers of Specialty Groundwod include
Mill Capacity (000) Market Share (Source RISI)
Abitibi/Bowater 2,755 39.7%
Catalyst 870 12.6%
Stora Enso 710 10.2%
Fraser/Katahdin 500 7.2%
Irving 420 6.1%
Kruger 285 4.1%
St Marys 220 3.2%
Manistique 120 1.7%
White Birch 95 1.4%
Norpac 75 1.1%
The total North American capacity for producing these grades is at 6.7million tons. Although demand has been fairly flat the past few years, capacity has been taken out of the market and therefore with less supply pricing remains firm. The supercalender portion of the market enjoys excellent demand.
Top North American producers of Specialty Groundwod include
Mill Capacity (000) Market Share (Source RISI)
Abitibi/Bowater 2,755 39.7%
Catalyst 870 12.6%
Stora Enso 710 10.2%
Fraser/Katahdin 500 7.2%
Irving 420 6.1%
Kruger 285 4.1%
St Marys 220 3.2%
Manistique 120 1.7%
White Birch 95 1.4%
Norpac 75 1.1%
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Sterling Digital big Seller at Paper.com
Paper.com remarked on how popular the Sterling Ultra Digital grades have been on site.
A few attributes outlining this grade include-
Grade: Sterling Ultra Digital
suitable for 'all' digital presses EXCEPT Hewlett Packard (HP)
HP has a special Sterling grade called Sterling Ultra Digital for HP indigo for the HP requirements
>RIT has qualified the non HP grade for Kodak, other presses suitable include Heidelberg, Komori, Xerox, Canon, Xeikon (rolls), IBM (rolls), AGFA, and OCE..
Also, Ryobi, KBA, KPG, PresTek, and ManRoland,
>Grade features for all the Sterling Digital include
High brightness
Special surface coating
7pt and 9pt available and USPS approved for reply card
Acid Free (for good archival)
10% post consumer fibers
ECF - Elemental Chlorine Free (candidate for green store???)
Available in text ann cover weights and gloss, matte, and Dull.
A few attributes outlining this grade include-
Grade: Sterling Ultra Digital
suitable for 'all' digital presses EXCEPT Hewlett Packard (HP)
HP has a special Sterling grade called Sterling Ultra Digital for HP indigo for the HP requirements
>RIT has qualified the non HP grade for Kodak, other presses suitable include Heidelberg, Komori, Xerox, Canon, Xeikon (rolls), IBM (rolls), AGFA, and OCE..
Also, Ryobi, KBA, KPG, PresTek, and ManRoland,
>Grade features for all the Sterling Digital include
High brightness
Special surface coating
7pt and 9pt available and USPS approved for reply card
Acid Free (for good archival)
10% post consumer fibers
ECF - Elemental Chlorine Free (candidate for green store???)
Available in text ann cover weights and gloss, matte, and Dull.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Mohawk continues to be Green
One of Paper.com’s premier suppliers for environmentally friendly papers, Mohawk Paper Mill, has recently been named to the EPA’s list of 100 percent green power purchasers. Mohawk now produces 100% of its electricity from renewable wind power – this producer is the first paper mill to do this. The company produces many quality text and cover and digital paper grades that are environmentally friendly, including Beckett Concept and Expressions, Strathmore Writing and Script, and Mohawk Options, Via, and Color Copy. The mill is FSCcertified and most products, including the digital line are Green E-certified. In addition, Mohawk announced that five of its trucks were converted to biodiesel fuel.
Paper.com is proud to market these environmentally friendly grades.
Paper.com is proud to market these environmentally friendly grades.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Bowater and Abitibi Deal Done
Abitibi and Bowater completed their merger. The new company is called AbitibiBowater This combined company will be the largest newsprint producer. The merger combines 32 pulp and paper mills and 35 wood
products facilities now under the new new name of AbitibiBowater.
products facilities now under the new new name of AbitibiBowater.
NewPage Purchases StoraEnso NA
NewPage recently announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire StoraEnso’s North American paper production facilities. NewPage will pay $1.5billion and the deal is expected to close first quarter of 2008.
Xerox Introduces new Grade
As reported by Paper.com in past about the new Xerox grade, made with mechanical pulp, is now available.
Xerox announced the availability of a 45lb text grade (17.7lb equivalent weight for bond) for its copy equipment. It offers 10% more sheets per pound and performs the same as the typical 50lbs text (20lbs – bond). The opacity is equal to that of a traditional 60lbs text (24lbs – bond) and has a brightness of 84.
Paper.com markets Xerox grades.
Xerox announced the availability of a 45lb text grade (17.7lb equivalent weight for bond) for its copy equipment. It offers 10% more sheets per pound and performs the same as the typical 50lbs text (20lbs – bond). The opacity is equal to that of a traditional 60lbs text (24lbs – bond) and has a brightness of 84.
Paper.com markets Xerox grades.
New Glow in the Dark Inks
Paper.com markets many bright paper grades and have just learned of an ink manufacturer that offers glow in the dark inks. The ink is supplied by Gans Ink and Supply. The inks can be used by commercial printers for such projects as artwork, emergency / safety signs, and creating novel promotions to capture the imagination.
Emerging Markets help Tissue Paper Market Grow
As most markets are steady or declining in the developed world, some manufactures are turning to the emerging markets. The USA market for tissue had an average growth of 5.5% since 2004 while markets such as Indonesia, Poland, Romania, and Brazil have grown over 30% and in some countries over 50%. As disposable income rises, the customer base for tissue also expands.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Minor Growth for Print Shipments
PIA/GATF reported that US printing shipments grew at a modest pace over the first half of this year, 2.7 percent ahead of last year’s first half.
Survey Results from Commercial Printer around USA
Graphic DesignUSA reported on a recent survey
Projects creative firms worked on through September 2007 (in Order)
1 Brochure
2 Sales Promotions
3 Direct mail
4 Cards, Invitations, Announcements
5 Identity / Letterhead
6 Posters
7 Packaging / POP /Signs
8 Print Advertising
9 Annual / Corporate Reports
10 Publications / Periodicals
Who makes final Paper selection (in order)
1 Graphic Designer / Art Director / Creative
2 Client / Customer
3 Production / Manager
4 Printer / Printing salesperson
5 Paper Merchant / Spec Representative
6 Prepress shops
7 Office supply store
Kinds of paper most specified (in order)
1 Uncoated Text & Cover
2 Coated sheet fed / web
3 Writing / Letterhead
4* Recycled Papers
5 Opaque
6 Translucent
7 Color copy / Inkjet / Laser
8 Synthetic / Tear resistant
9** Digital
10 Holographic /Metallic
4* Recycle Papers continue to be popular
9** Digital printing is one of the fastest growing paper specified.
Paper.com, one of the largest online sites solely marketing paper has 40,000 items and has grades in all 10 of these categories.
Projects creative firms worked on through September 2007 (in Order)
1 Brochure
2 Sales Promotions
3 Direct mail
4 Cards, Invitations, Announcements
5 Identity / Letterhead
6 Posters
7 Packaging / POP /Signs
8 Print Advertising
9 Annual / Corporate Reports
10 Publications / Periodicals
Who makes final Paper selection (in order)
1 Graphic Designer / Art Director / Creative
2 Client / Customer
3 Production / Manager
4 Printer / Printing salesperson
5 Paper Merchant / Spec Representative
6 Prepress shops
7 Office supply store
Kinds of paper most specified (in order)
1 Uncoated Text & Cover
2 Coated sheet fed / web
3 Writing / Letterhead
4* Recycled Papers
5 Opaque
6 Translucent
7 Color copy / Inkjet / Laser
8 Synthetic / Tear resistant
9** Digital
10 Holographic /Metallic
4* Recycle Papers continue to be popular
9** Digital printing is one of the fastest growing paper specified.
Paper.com, one of the largest online sites solely marketing paper has 40,000 items and has grades in all 10 of these categories.
Kruger to Shut Down two Paper Machines
Kruger announced that it will shut down production on the two supercalendered paper machines at its Trois-Rivieres mill due to increased value of Canadian dollar and production costs. The scheduled temporary production shutdown of paper
machine No. 5 from October 31 to November 11 will be extended for an indefinite period. This interruption will affect 65 employees. Production on Paper Machine No. 6 will however resume as planned on November 12, but will be interrupted for an indefinite period as of February 4, 2008, affecting 115 employees. Annual production on these two machines is 150,000 tons.
machine No. 5 from October 31 to November 11 will be extended for an indefinite period. This interruption will affect 65 employees. Production on Paper Machine No. 6 will however resume as planned on November 12, but will be interrupted for an indefinite period as of February 4, 2008, affecting 115 employees. Annual production on these two machines is 150,000 tons.
Evergreen Packaging to cut 122 jobs
RISI reported the Rank Group's Evergreen Packaging Group will eliminate 122 jobs at its Canton, NC, bleached board and uncoated freesheet paper mill and its Waynesville, PA, finishing plant, through attrition, the
Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times said recently.
Evergreen Packaging was created after Rank Group purchased Blue Ridge Paper this summer and renamed the company. The Rank Group also purchased International Paper's liquid packaging business and mill in Pine Bluff, AR,
last year.
Evergreen's headquarters is now in Memphis, TN
Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times said recently.
Evergreen Packaging was created after Rank Group purchased Blue Ridge Paper this summer and renamed the company. The Rank Group also purchased International Paper's liquid packaging business and mill in Pine Bluff, AR,
last year.
Evergreen's headquarters is now in Memphis, TN
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Digital Printing versus Offset Printing
Paper.com often reports on the dynamics of the digital printing market. The site has all the major brands and will ship as little as a ream of paper up to multi truck loads. In a recent article in DPSMagazine, three primary factors must be considered when deciding between digital and offset. First is format or size as well as print quality. Although the quality of digital has improved, offset printing is still better and the maximum size for a digital press finished piece is 20X14”. Special paper should be used when printing digital, while offset allows for a multitude of substraights. Second consideration is how you will market the printed piece – personalized or generic. Primary strength for the digital technology is the ability to personalize every piece and customize the message. The third consideration is price, digital generally appears more expense; however, one must focus on all costs including make ready and waste – digital printing really is more competitive than perceived – especially for short runs.
Which Process to use – Digital vs. Offset
DSPMagazine goes on to summarize evaluation process –
1. Format Size
2. Run Length
3. Brand or Spot Colors
4. Finishing requirements
5. Print Quality
6. Application
7. Substraight (type of paper) demanded
Which Process to use – Digital vs. Offset
DSPMagazine goes on to summarize evaluation process –
1. Format Size
2. Run Length
3. Brand or Spot Colors
4. Finishing requirements
5. Print Quality
6. Application
7. Substraight (type of paper) demanded
Abitibi and Bowater Merger is Closer
Abitibi and Bowater have agreed to sell a 370,000/mton newsprint in Snowflake, Arizona in order to meet Department of Justice antitrust concerns and gain approval for their proposed merger.
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