Communicators Go for Premium Grades

With catalogs and inserts already staged or produced for the holidays, designers and commercial printers are set to pounce on the "delicate" jobs—annual reports, corporate responsibility statements, communication portfolios, etc. Imparting to these projects a positive impression of corporate style calls for premium papers, both coated and uncoated varieties.

As companies add a selection of worthy new reports—Environmental Progress, Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship—they also convey "important themes for the multinational corporations who must meet the expectations of diverse audiences," says Laura Shore, Mohawk Papers VP of marketing communications.

Premium coateds—usually double- or even triple-coated during manufacture—are the most costly papers. They also present a challenge on press. Not conducive to short runs, premium coated is prone to waste in storage, and difficulties can arise in matching odd-lot jobs. Fortune 500 firms do tend to specify it for longer-run annual reports, citing economies of scale in procurement of rolls, and for gravure runs.

For shorter press runs, uncoated premium paper is favored. It is a natural for corporate responsibility statements, both distinctive and buttressing the message.

The same pricing trends seen across paper markets as a whole this year—firm and rising at least twice in most grades—also affect the premium sector. And in uncoated, particularly, demand is high. Requests for these papers spiked late last year, and prices are unlikely to fall during this corporate print season. On a positive note, corporate profits are up, too, and clients are willing to splurge for premiums—a bottom-line benefit to printers. Healthy prices encourage mills that still have machine time open to fill orders for unique colors and finishes, which savvy designers seek for stand-out campaigns.

Beyond the traditional annual report, "Corporations are addressing environmental [protection] concerns, as well as corporate governance issues that affect the community at large," says Mohawk's Shore. The reports have the same high production values as the annual report. Mohawk's Inxwell Papers and, in particular, its Options, are favored here, she says, for environmental attributes. Options, produced using only wind-generated energy and 100% post-consumer waste, also bears the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, confirming its "green" provenance.

Uncoated papers offer a narrower grade spectrum than coateds in weight and quantity, but out-class them with distinctive colors and finishes. Domestic brands also are readily available in small quantities for just-in-time delivery.

Gerry Rector, senior product development manager for Neenah Papers, cites the experience of Dallas merchant Dolphin Blue, which sees specifiers seeking environmentally friendly products for annual reports—though not always successfully. One difficulty is "finding the right paper, making our job to educate important; or perhaps it is the price," says Rector. On shorter runs, look and feel trump cost concerns. "I see plenty of annual reports printed on uncoated stock, so that influence may be gaining in acceptance," he continues. Light greens remain popular for annual report financials. Matching uncoated paper for interior pages to coated covers also is pretty much standard, says Rector.

Recovering from the economic downturn and distancing themselves from high-profile corporate scandals, companies are "continuing to keep constraints on their annual report budgets," says Gina Pace, group manager of text, cover and writing for Domtar Papers. They've increased "transparency" with many pages of detailed financials, notes Pace, but "at the expense of full-color photography and long CEO letters of explanation." Domtar's post-consumer and FSC-certified brands include opaque (Titanium and Plainfield), coated (Luna, Cornwall) and a myriad of test and cover grades (Proterra, Feltweave, Solutions, Sandpiper, Nekoosa). "More companies understand the need to align their words and actions in terms of corporate social responsibility—and paper selection plays an important role in making that message credible," Pace says.