Printing companies are facing the prospect of double-digit rises in paper prices following announcements of up to 12% increases by UK paper merchants. Printers have been warned that most merchants will make their increases from 6th April, although not all of the increases have been confirmed.
Depending on the grade, Antalis and its sister company James McNaughton Group have announced it would raise its prices by 8-10%, saying it would affect coated and uncoated graphic papers for sheets, reels and cut-size grades.
Howard Smith Paper have made it known that the full extent of the proposed price rises on its pricing strategy was not yet clear, but it is likely to raise prices between 8-12% for coated and uncoated grades for stock and direct mill deliveries.
The increase is expected to be in the region of 8-10% at Robert Horne.
Blaming rises in the cost of raw material and production, most of the paper merchants increased their prices last month and now they are back again, profiteering beyond the price rises introduced by the paper mills.
It would appear that the rationalisation of UK paper merchants over the last decade has resulted in a situation where there is little competition. Maybe it is time for the big boys to be broken up?
The major European paper manufacturers have today announced that paper prices are set to increase at some point in late March / early April. They say that this latest increase is due to pulp prices increasing by a third over the past 12 months and haulage and fuel prices going up. Some would think that with demand dropping the prices should be going the other way?
What is a certainty is that there is still over capacity in the UK print market and this price increase will not be passed on by all printers which will result in an increased rate at which UK printing companies go under over the next 6 months.
Re: PrintSpeak, 6th January 2010, Karen Charlesworth – from the editor.
Karen’s story sounds so familiar to my own and is one that will resonate amongst many in the printing industry.
When I first entered the industry in 1986 as an apprentice litho printer with Raithby Lawrence & Co Ltd. of Leicester and London, I was entering a world of huge heritage. Although the majority of the presses were litho, they still had the racks of type set underneath compositors tables, of which there were maybe 16-20, and a couple of Heidelberg cylinders which still went on to offer me the occasional Saturday morning overtime bonus.
Of course by 1990 this antiquated machinery had disappeared along with the Kords, Sordz, Millars and Crabtrees that I trained on, being replaced by state of the art Komori Lithrones with revolutionary plate scanners and magnetic duct setting cards.
By 1993 it was the turn of the retouchers – a studio brimming with Apple Mackintosh computers and filmsetters had arrived. Planner platemakers and the traditional film exposed contract proof were to follow the same demise in the years following.
Sadly for my cousin, apprenticed as a ‘Slade trained’ traditional film retoucher at the same turn as I, had a very short career within a trade that offered a lifetime of employment security – only 8 years until his role disappeared in 1994 – the irony that it was down to a man named ‘Jobs’.
Fortunately, my father should just about see out his working life as a litho printer, having been one of the very first litho apprentices with William Caple & Co Ltd. at the time of the introduction of the first litho press into a traditional letterpress printing business.
To the present, Mulberry Square are in the business of providing print solutions as part of their marketing services proposition and as such remain vigilant to the changes taking place in print, being aware that these changes can be a risk but also realising that they are an opportunity.
Inkjet technology is an area that has already served us well – we have been utilising it for the past 12 years as part of our philosophy of taking control of the proofing process, which still has its place as a colour management and assurance tool. As Karen states, it is only a matter of time until the consumables cost drops to a point where, in combination with the already available speed, inkjet replaces what we know as traditional litho printing. Not meaning to wish time away, but 2010 will I believe be a time when we look back once again to an era of change.
I refer to the latest round of paper price increases introduced by all of the UK paper merchants on Monday 2nd November 2009.
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.
I refer to this article published on 13th November 2009.
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.
