Economy Tests Publication Grades

Magazine advertising pages and ad/edit ratios are moving targets in publishing today. Economic trends, branding, and consumer spending drive advertising in ways that are fairly unpredictable. The boom and bust of dot-com companies provides recent evidence of an industry switch that drove pages and prices up in 1999 and 2000, but are barely visible in 2001. Publishers have to adjust to this phenomena on-the-fly, which affects pressroom operations dramatically—sometimes month-to-month.

Production managers must make allowances for hitting the moving target of publisher and his readership expectations in this changing environment. If implemented correctly, paper application is one option (along with ink) that can satisfy the change in market forces and meet quality demands.

A recent paper journal article by ad page guru Robin MaCann of Omnova Solutions (

www.tappi.org/public/ tappi_journal.asp

MaCann points out that magazines changed basis weights continuously to maintain weight, appearance, and flex with advertising trends and postal rate changes. Basis weight variations for text of 5 lb. to 10 lb. were not at all unusual. Variations of cover stock were found to be even greater, between 5 lb. and 15 lb. or higher.

These paper grades also had differences in gloss (ranging from a few points between issues to 10 to 15 over the year), brightness and whiteness (from 65 to 70 in long runs and 74 to 80 for the smaller, regionally distributed trades), and paper brands and lines.

Today, coated paper use in magazines comprises about two million tons. Coated groundwood grades hold about 75% of this amount, while ultra-lightweight (28 lb. to 32 lb.) occupies half of the groundwood market. Moving up the food chain, the fashion sector takes on everything from lightweight coated 36-lb. stock up to coated freesheet grades of 45 lb. and higher.

McCann's study found dramatic differences in image quality and reproduction, readability, and appearance between competitors and even subscriptions. The implications of paper selection are critical, and too often are driven by price.

One trend that has startled market researchers is the sheer number of grades used by magazines almost interchangeably. This can be partly explained by the use of inserts and format changes in advertising buys, but needs further study on quality variation from issue to issue.

Print production managers should know a few things, besides the price, about changing basis weights and vendors in the middle of runs.

With postal rate increases and ad pages soft, printers may feel pressured by publishers to use lower-quality grades or be forced to use grades that are unfamiliar to the press. Printers need to step back from production for a few moments and evaluate the new rolls and make adjustments. These adjustments likely are trade-offs on quality desires.

When lowering basis weights, it is possible to get a bulkier sheet (e.g. buying a 30-lb. grade that looks and feels exactly like 32-lb. stock). Newsweeklies and catalog publishers want a heavy "feel" when the book is lifted by the reader. Though some paper sales representatives will tell you there is no need for adjustments, press operators should consider ink, tack, and tension adjustments to avoid breaks, particularly for imported rolls.

The coating may be fantastic for image reproduction, but how many breaks are tolerable? Breaks can be caused by using lighter-base stock or weaker fiber (more hardwood for bulk). In any event, mills like UPM-Kymmene have developed grades like UPM Cote (#5) High Image for just such scenarios of increasing bulk while reducing or maintaining weight.

More often than not, it's the weight itself that must come down. A 40-lb. or 34-lb. #5 coated grade is subject to reduction, perhaps to 30 lb. Here, the printer cannot use the same ink and tack or even speed. The result of not adjusting is likely to be blanket piling, linting, and finishing trouble.

If you are using the same grade line and lower weight, contact your ink supplier and find a way to satisfy the trade-off (e.g. is a little strike-through okay, is there any dot gain increase, should you increase or employ mono tack?). It is not possible to pocket the savings without balancing printability and runnability.

One solution is to increase quality from #5 to #4 coated. Stora Enso (formerly Consolidated Papers) has introduced two new #4 grades, Capri (in Gloss and Suede) and Spartan Web (high brightness) to move customers up the quality ladder, while the company's ConsoWeb grades (particularly Gloss) continue to drive its #5 business.

If paper grades are changed, printers should keep in mind that not all coatings and base stocks are the same. Paper mill pulps are made from different fiber sources, different "forming" techniques (how water is removed during the papermaking process), and, perhaps most importantly, different coating materials.

Mills are experimenting with less-abrasive clays, efficient use of latex and titanium dioxide, and more efficient application of coatings. Unfortunately, "more efficient" oftentimes is a euphemism for "less cost," so material qualities vary.

Here, too, price reduction probably is the result of a market share grab by a subsidized or poorly disciplined sales group. This should be of particular note when going to imports and new sources. Let the buyer beware.

Smaller mills tend to get squeezed out of big contracts when consolidation occurs. This has the impact of lowering the overall quality of the market, which is unfortunate because the barriers to entry in the paper industry are formidable. The capital intensity and difficulty in permitting make it almost impossible for new companies to start up machinery, with or without innovation.

It's important to focus on knowledge and service (technical and logistical) when selecting a supplier. Once one gets squeezed out, the new guy should be put under a microscope before the order is entered. After all, for the $1 to $5/cwt savings that might be obtained, is it really worth it to run poorly for a day or two on an important customer's product? Savings can get chewed up very fast in waste and make-goods.

Try to resist the customer's need for mill switching by doing your homework on the new stock together with the current ink and paper suppliers: at least the education of the customer will be out front, and a safety net established for defect claims later on.

For example, Kruger, a more focused producer, is concentrating on improving service alongside its KruCote line (Offset, Roto, Matte) with personal site training, experienced people in print production on the company's technical support team, and easy selection criteria for their own paper products.

Crown Vantage, Mead, and Weyerhaeuser (maker of Choctaw) fit this focused approach as well.

Mills are not likely to change coating formulation or make a special run unless the tonnage is there. But mills do move with the trends. The matte coated craze in lightweights is a good example of major shifts in production in 2000, but that trend seems to be ebbing. However, it appears significantly in the application of spin-off publications.

Matte papers now comprise about 25% of the 18,000 commercial titles in print, and are the fastest-growing segment among regional and spin-off titles. Matte also is doing well in short-run, narrow-distribution catalog markets.

Additionally, Bowater, International Paper (formerly Champion), Norske Skog, SCA, and other internationally renowned coated publication grade paper producers have beefed up on matte grades to meet demand.