Consumables-Paper - Digital

Confused about Whiteness and Brightness? Brightness is a traditional measure that still appears on most packaging in the United States. The TAPPI standard (GE brightness) measures the ability of a paper to reflect blue light. Whiteness measures paper in the same way the eye sees it.

Neenah Paper announces the relaunch of its Environment Papers premium recycled papers line with fresh, new natural colors and a tactile Raw finish. Created for sustainable communication programs, luxury packaging and all digital print applications, the offering contains 30 to 100 percent postconsumer fibers and is manufactured under sustainable practices.

The proposed merger of NewPage and Verso Paper may be on the ropes, but it has brought much attention to the oddities of the U.S. market for coated paper.

Though coated-paper companies have the means and the motive to cooperate on pricing, the same is not true for publication printers, even though they have a similar customer base.

The anonymous prosecutor’s comments, The Capitol Forum’s analysis, and my own experience inspired this list of 10 reasons the U.S. market for coated paper is prone to collusion, both legal and illegal:

Sappi Fine Paper North America is seeking entries for the 2014 North American Printer of the Year awards, a competition that recognizes print excellence and innovation across 10 categories for work produced on Sappi papers. In addition to esteemed recognition, judges will select one Printer of the Year among 10 of this year's Gold Award winning finalists to receive up to $20,000 in design support and 5,000 lbs of paper towards marketing and brand initiatives.

At Dscoop9 held March 6-8 in Orlando, FL, Neenah will have on display all of the new HP digitally certified color and texture items, including the newly introduced Grocer Kraft RAW Finish in Environment Papers and best-selling colors in the Astrobrights Papers line.

NewPage Corp. has added two new sheet sizes—29.5x20.75 text and 20.75x29.5 cover stocking—to its economy digital coated paper brand, Blazer Digital, specifically for HP Indigo 10000 digital presses.

This week, PaperSpecsGallery.com features the Stoutnik beer label for Stoutnik Russian Imperial Stout. The all-black packaging, frosted matte black bottle and blind-embossed dot pattern make this bottle label stand out!

International Paper and Dscoop have announced a sponsorship that features International Paper as a diamond level sponsor, the highest level in their class. "Our products were developed with HP graphic arts and digital print end users in mind and pair well with the high-performance standards of these growing markets," said Clay Ellis, International Paper vice president of Printing Papers.

Every three years, Clampitt Paper sponsors a special competition for designers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. PaperSpecsGallery.com shows the winning Paper Trail Wine Label.

A colored sheet makes a marvelous base for a number of outstanding marketing pieces—and I am not talking fluorescent, eye-catching fliers that announce your next garage sale.