The cost of paper for a print job is usually in the range of 30% – 60% of the total so paper price rises –which for many people take effect this week – are pretty significant. As a marketing business specialising in print management we buy paper from two main sources: our print suppliers and our office supplies.

It’s usually more topical to talk about rising fuel prices rather than paper, mainly because fuel amounts to as much as 35% of overheads for businesses that have to transport goods by road. So if you’re in the paper business at the moment, rising prices would seem to be even more of a major cause for concern.

According to the British Print Industries Federation (BPIF) paper prices have continued to increase since early 2010, against a backdrop of increased demand and a continued tightening of paper supply. The UK print industry is the world’s fifth largest producer of printed products and has a turnover in excess of £14bn. There are more than 10,000 companies employing around 140,000 people.

Several price rises have affected almost all printers sometime over the past 18 months. The overall levels of price hikes have been quite considerable for the majority. The problem for printers is balancing how many of the rises they can absorb and how many they can pass on to customers. Compared with 2009, prices have risen by around 30%.
Now another hike is about to take its toll and a Leicestershire printer told my colleague that, once again, the rise is going to have to be passed on to the customer.

He said that paper mills have explained that rising prices are due to changes in supply and demand conditions around the world. These changing conditions can be caused by a number of factors, including economic, political, meteorological, or geological.
Add to that the rising price of oil and there’s only one direction the price can go. But our printer also said that paper prices were on the rise before oil prices escalated and there was a view that paper prices were lower that they should be.

So one suspects the truth lies somewhere amid global crises, rising oil prices, economic uncertainty, natural disasters, and business opportunity. There’s so much you can blame, it’s probably a good opportunity to add a few pence to the price; probably too good an opportunity to miss.

The catalogue is half menswear and half womenswear, with the direction in which you hold it determining which you are looking at, making it both interesting and compact in its design.

We handled the print management of this big project, making sure that the paper was the correct quality and finish and of course making sure that the colours in the catalogue match up to the product colours. As you will appreciate, colour consistency between advertising and product is crucial!

To browse the new collection online, please visit their website to see what they have to offer.

The Finished Cover

Mulberry Square was recently asked to print manage a wedding photography booklet, “A Guide To Posing”. We were supplied with the digital artwork and the copy for the booklet and were tasked to find the right printer, paper, finishing and binding to perfectly complement the images contained within.

With such important images; those of a bride and groom on their wedding day, it was essential that the colour management of this booklet was perfect. The effects of the lighting on people’s faces can make or break an image and so our pre-flighting expertise was key to ensuring the look of this booklet lived up to its potential. Happily, as we at Mulberry Square always employ cutting edge digital proofing – to FOGRA standards – you can rest assured that your printing will always be picture perfect.

These increases of between 5-8% affect both coated and uncoated papers and boards and come despite significant restructuring and cost reduction programmes implemented by the paper mills and merchants. The merchants claim that the impact of the Sterling’s continued weak value against the Euro has resulted in paper prices that are currently the lowest in Europe. Mainly for this reason, coupled with the escalating cost of pulp, returns from the UK market have fallen to the point where they are unsustainable for the paper mills.

Printers who ultimately attempt to pass on the increase to their clients face the nightmare task of trying to make the increase stick when British Printing Industry Federation (BPIF) survey statistics* show that only 31% of UK printers are working at over 80% capacity during the period 1 – 11 September 2009.

To the business owner or marketeer looking to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the downturn, doubts could be raised as to the sense in utilising print collateral as part of their marketing strategy. Our advice still remains the same; that a well conceived, well planned, multi-channel strategy using a combination of online and offline media, delivered to a well researched, targeted audience will more often than not win out on the day.

By working in partnership with experienced professionals, such as the guys within the print management division of Mulberry Square, the impact of these increases can be managed and solutions can be found to overcome these obstacles created by the adverse economic conditions we are experiencing at this time.

*The Printing Outlook report is based on an online survey carried out during the period 1-11 September 2009. The survey consisted of 114 companies employing 10,958 people with a turnover in excess of £1.1bn.

A brief but interesting report that offers a little light on the debate that continues regarding the extent to which printers should improve their environmental credentials at this time of economic turmoil.

Mulberry Square takes its responsibility for the environment seriously. We actively encourage our suppliers to make ongoing improvements to the the way they use materials and the waste they create. We also make it our business to promote the environmental benefits offered by certain papers, particularly when it comes to recycled papers and the strict management of forests developed for the production of paper.