Paper On Line: Data, not Buying

Though paper is bought and sold over the Internet regularly, it has captured a tiny fraction of overall transactions. Business-to-business relationships have been maintained and formed using the Web, but basic sales and technical service is performed by professional individuals who must be dynamic on a daily basis. The Internet is playing a supporting role.

Information about paper is richer than ever on line. Printers and designers are limited only to their ability to manipulate search engines to find out about every aspect of paper products and their correct applications in the printing, packaging, and converting realms.

Meanwhile, paper companies maintain a presence in their usual subtle way. A few offer real-time paper buys (none through auction), and even those will result in a phone call if contact is new.

Paper auctions represent a fraction of actual transactions; the lion's share consists of odd lots, close-outs, and distressed shipments, usually associated with some risk.

Papersite (papersite.com) and Secondary Fiber Exchange (sefex.com) continue to operate as they did in the beginning of their existence, the former posting auctions and the latter engaged in trading. However, public auctions are irregularly conducted and not well attended. In reality, most paper traders are well established between buyers and sellers, and have been operating for years with a telephone and an address book.

The U.S.-based paper industry's electronic consortium is called Forest Express (ForestExpress.com). This umbrella organization is attempting to fit the entire array of e-commerce business solutions under its banner. The site is full of PDFs to wade through, and chock-full of IT jargon. It essentially is a hub for clients to route orders through while maintaining consistent documentation.

The real users of Forest Express are the paper companies themselves, who tend to be each other's best customers, from packaging to converting. Big paper buyers may be intrigued by the connectivity capacity and extension of supply chain management directly into the paper company catalogs. Certainly, it is a way to keep up with the latest in B2B technology developments, though at a cost.

In Europe, on-line paper commerce is small, though it is larger than in the U.S. The European approach has been quite different from the start, with producers backing standards formation and use for all to sell over the Internet, rather than auctions.

PapiNet is the most well-regarded on this front (its U.S. affiliate is IDEAlliance). It offers members a level playing field and consistency in order specification, making the ability to record and qualify orders simple and true, whether they're auction or B2B. Auctions in Europe are held at distribution centers both corporately and independently, with lots of tons coming from the former Soviet Union and its satellites (and some of it good quality).

Paper's transportation costs and timeliness in commodity markets (forms, coupons, and advertising inserts) establishes the legitimacy of local distribution channels. Paper customers usually have little time to quibble with logistics, and want neat expedition. Service-minded paper companies and distributors can provide this readily.

Service is always the second-biggest consideration in a purchase, and distinguishes itself from product quality in a not-so-subtle way. Publication grades do not transact well via auctions either because of the global nature of the business, and for the reasons listed above for commercial printing. The buyers and sellers are simply too big to deal with another way of making a transaction, and have professional purchasing staffs to solve most challenges. Adding another layer to purchasing is counterproductive to what end users want: "faster, cheaper, and more of it," in most cases.

The other side of this on-line paper market is the small-volume consumer that finds great utility in making Internet purchases through paper companies or distributor portals. Here, orders are primarily generated using specific software programs from producers or distributors, or through password connections at paper company Web sites.

Domtar and Smurfit maintain the most active sites for pure paper and board purchases (respectively), while International Paper's xpedx unit leads on-line sales for distributors (not just paper, but all printer needs). The big paper companies dispatch orders from a local warehouse, while xpedx and others can expedite the order through a local store or warehouse.

Office supply houses such as Office Depot and Staples also do a good job of selling paper (and everything else) on line by offering free delivery with repeat or large orders, and firm, listed pricing. There also are print buyer sites such as Printcafe and Printing for Less that offer paper specifications.

Paper buyers have several choices in which to evaluate grades on line and obtain samples without surfing through a mill's or distributor's Web site.

Graphic Arts Monthly's own swatchcenter.com provides a nice assortment of swatchbooks released by the paper companies. Paperspecs.com is a subscription-based site that expedites swatchbook inquiries along with other services for designers. For information on paper companies, check out paperloop.com, forestweb.com, paperage.com, and pulpandpaperonline.com; the packaging world is covered at packaging-online.com.

All of these sites offer a variety of readily usable information, searchable databases of reports, fee-based services for research and pricing, and advertising and promotions.

IP and MeadWestvaco now have software programs to assist in everything from designing covers and boxes to assisting workflow and calculating press run needs. The more design-centered mills like Appleton Paper (adding a new ideas forum), Finch, Mohawk (recently relaunched), Neenah (relaunched last year), and Wausau have design resources and more funky features (use a high-speed line for surfing these sites).

Paper association sites seem weak and more government-focused, but packaging associations like National Paperbox Association (paperbox.org) and Paperboard Packaging Council (ppcnet.org) are great resources.