Printing Process Inputs -- Consumables: A Mixed Bag

Paper import levels can rise or fall fairly rapidly in response to changes in the value of the U.S. dollar, absent any trade barriers, Zaret says. This makes the exchange rate key to the industry’s health. “At the current dollar level, I’m not looking for a huge increase in paper imports,” he adds.

Looking at the paper market from the buyer’s perspective, Alex Brown, founder of Printmark Corp., an East Montpelier, VT-based consultancy to magazine publishers that specializes in manufacturing and distribution, has come to a similar conclusion regarding the outlook for 2009. “Prices will go down, but I don’t think they are going to plunge,” she says.