Q4 Paper Outlook — Caution in a Moderate Market

"Knowing that paper is readily available—in most cases, at stable, non-fluctuating prices—enables print buyers to drag their feet in actually placing larger orders until absolutely necessary," Dohman states.

There was a time, though, when that statement would have been absolutely false—circa 1980.

Colortone's Dohman remembers this period well. "Back in the late 1980s we were forced to convey to customers that we could only hold prices based on uncontrollable increases in paper costs, especially on sheetfed offset and coated grades," she states.