Q4 Paper Outlook — Caution in a Moderate Market

On the foreseeable horizon, paper prices should remain moderate—but don't let the stable situation make for stingy expenditure budgets for 1999. The word is caution, not complacency, for the market.

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO

Welcome to September. For many, it's a time to establish budgets for purchasing expenditures for the following year. Little doubt, in most commercial printing operations, paper is the most paramount consumable purchase for which to anticipate, sparking many a meeting or hallway conference on what to expect from the paper mills and distributors regarding pricing and availability.