Stora Enso Plans Conversion of Woodfree PM to Board

Stora Enso to convert fine paper machine to containerboard

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/06_14_2013stora_enso_varkaus_containerboard.html

Stora Enso has decided to commence a feasibility study with the aim of converting the Varkaus Mill fine paper machine in Finland to produce virgin-fibre-based containerboard. The findings of a recently completed pre-feasibility study supported continuation of the process. The feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, will evaluate the profitability of the project to manufacture containerboard at Varkaus Mill.
Varkaus Mill, which employs 260 people, has one paper machine with an annual capacity of 285 000 tonnes of uncoated fine paper. The potential capacity of the board machine would be about 350 000 tonnes per year.

Stora Enso Invests EUR 32 Million in Pulp Mill

http://www.storaenso.com/

Stora Enso is investing approximately EUR 32 million in Skoghall Mill in Sweden. The investment primarily pertains to rebuilding of a fibre line in the sulphate pulp mill and its chemical recovery operations, thereby increasing the mill's pulp production capacity by 45 000 tonnes per year.

The project will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in October 2014. This investment is additional to the recent investment of approximately EUR 90 million in a new woodroom and woodyard for improved wood handling at the mill. The investment will enable Skoghall Mill to increase production volumes and improve its cost position.

How Catalogs Drive Your Business

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/blog/how-catalogs-drive-business

The printed catalog is the main driver of traffic to the web. However, with all of the other touchpoints available to consumers today, how do we really know the impact of catalog mailings on web sales? And why do we give so much credit to the print catalog? There are a few reasons why:

The processes of matching back order files to mail tapes give companies the strongest sense of how catalogs drive web business.
When looking at your order curves, you will see that online sales spike every time a catalog hits in-home.  
Contact strategy testing: My company has done a great deal of testing using holdout panels in mail vs. no mail split tests. The mailed segments always perform better.
A reduction in catalog circulation always results in a reduction of sales from the web.
While the internet has become the preferred way to place an order, consumers still prefer to shop from a catalog. That's why it's important to understand the difference between sales through the web vs. sales from the web. Catalogers often say to me that 70 percent or more of their business is coming from the web. What they really mean is 70 percent of their orders are coming through the web, not from the web. Perhaps 15 percent to 20 percent of the orders are coming from the web, but the majority of the orders that came over the web where driven by a print catalog.

MediaPost Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/202433/mag-bag-magazine-publishers-oppose-postal-rate-hi.html#axzz2WDcXDJ29

Magazine Publishers Oppose Postal Rate Hike
Magazine publishers have joined forces with catalog mailers, direct marketers and newspaper publishers to reform the Affordable Mail Alliance. They oppose another proposed “exigent” rate hike from the U.S. Postal Service. The reconstituted AMA protested the proposed increase in a letter to the USPS Board of Governors, which is currently considering the request... NYT Magazine Gets Online Redesign
The New York Times Magazine’s online presence has been thoroughly revamped to make it more accessible to readers using a variety of devices, Journalism.co.uk reported this week...
Kremins To VP, General Manager, Epicurious Condé Nast has appointed Carolyn Kremins to the position of senior vice president and general manager of Epicurious. She previously served as vice president and publisher of Condé Nast Traveler... National Journal Ups Grossman To Exec Editor
National Journal is creating a new, more senior position for Global Security Newswire’s Elaine Grossman, who now holds the title of executive editor and senior correspondent.

Global Ad Market Forecast to Grow 3% in 2013

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/202434/global-tv-ad-growth-forecast-at-3-in-2013-6-nex.html#axzz2WDcXDJ29

The global advertising market will continue to grow modestly at low single-digit increases through the end of the year --  but will spike up to a 6% growth rate next year.
Magna Global’s latest advertising forecast will get to $486 billion with 3% growth for 2013 -- a slowdown from the 3.9% growth of a year ago. Still, the media agency group unit says the market will show double the growth levels next year -- 6.1%, to reach $515 billion. 

Retail Sales Up 4.8%

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1597

Improved consumer confidence and spending helped drive retail sales in May. According to the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, May retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from April and increased a strong 4.8 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

Bauer Sees Value in Newsstands

http://adage.com/article/media/bauer-starts-a-celebrity-weekly-called-closer/242128/

Bauer Publishing, the owner of magazines including In Touch and Woman's World, plans to introduce Closer, a weekly celebrity magazine aimed at women in their mid-30s to late 40s, the company said. 
The rollout, reported Friday in The New York Post, is a surprising move amid an ongoing, years-long slump in newsstand sales. Magazines' single-copy sales in the second half of last year fell 8% from the second half a year earlier,  according to the Alliance for Audited Media, with double-digit declines at In Touch, sibling Life & Style, Time Inc.'s People and Wenner Media's Us Weekly.
But Bauer, which has always emphasized newsstands over the subscription business that comprises the focus at most U.S. publishers, remains committed to newsstands.

Digital Print Market at $187.7 Billion by 2018

https://www.smitherspira.com/news/printing/digital-offset-2018.aspx

The digital printing market will grow from $131.5 billion in 2013 to $187.7 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 7.4%, according to the latest research from Smithers Pira. 
Digital's share of the total print market will grow from 9.8% in 2008 to 20.6% in 2018, with inkjet growing faster than electrophotography. All the offset processes will see their value shares fall, particularly in web offset. 

A new study from Smithers Pira - The Future of Offset vs Digital Printing to 2018 - shows how the issue of direct competition between digital and offset printing is a daily occurrence for print service suppliers, in determining which process they should use for a particular job.

Coalition Fights Postal Rate Increases

http://www.magazine.org/mpa/affordable-mail-alliance-again-fight-major-postal-service-price-increases

The Affordable Mail Alliance, a coalition of Postal Service customers, has been reestablished to defeat an expected Postal Service proposal to raise postage rates by as much as five times the rate permissible by law.  The Postal Service Board of Governors, who must approve the Postal Service’s request, is set to decide on the matter imminently.  

The law permits the Postal Service to raise postage rates annually, consistent with the rate of inflation, a standard that should satisfy any well run organization in today’s economy.  But a combination of declining revenue and increasing costs has the Postal Service poised to inflict on its customers an “exigent” rate increase designed to subsidize an outdated infrastructure in need of change.  Most private sector companies have already made major structural and operational changes in recent years in order to survive.  The USPS needs to do the same.

Meredith Launches New Tool for Parents Network

Meredith Launches Multibranded Augmented Reality Effort:
Augmented reality plays are usually rolled out one title at a time, but Meredith has launched the enhanced execution across its entire Parents Network, linking them with a single app.
The Meredith Mom+ app has a universal scanner that interacts with bonus content, e-commerce offers and advertisements in the June and July issues of Parents, American Baby, FamilyFun and Ser Padres.

Double Postcard Direct Mail Tactics

Optimizing Your Double Postcard Direct Mail Tactics:
Whether you think direct mail is making a comeback or it never went away, the truth is publishers are returning to direct mail. The good news is that it does not have to be that expensive and a good example of this is the double postcard format. Double postcards will not work for every publication or occasion—for instance, new magazine launches—but certainly in many cases, especially if your magazine is well-known, a double postcard may be just what you need to get back into the mail. True, you are limited in the amount of copy you can use, but sometimes less really can be more.

The Atlantic Launches a Digital Weekly

The Atlantic Launches a Digital Weekly:  The Atlantic's much speculated move into another paid content product went live today. The brand launched a weekly digital publication called The Atlantic Weekly that will curate some of the already-published, longer-form content from the magazine and The Atlantic-branded websites.

Northstar Buys Your Travel Insider

Northstar Travel Media Makes a Data Play with Your Travel Insider Acquisition:  B-to-b travel media and event company Northstar Travel Media has made a move into the consumer travel market with the acquisition of Your Travel Insider, a news and information provider for  travel enthusiasts.

Heidelberg Key Milestone in FY 2012/2013

Heidelberg achieves key milestone in financial year 2012/2013: Clearly positive operating result excluding special items.
Sales up 5 percent at EUR 2.735 billion
EBITDA excluding special items improves to EUR 111 million, with clearly positive EBIT excluding special items of EUR 28 million
Special items and negative financial result lead to net loss for the year
Free cash flow excluding payments for Focus 2012 clearly positive at around EUR 44 million (including Focus 2012: EUR -18 million)
Net debt remains stable at EUR 261 million

USPS Annual Sustainability Report

U.S. Postal Service Releases Fifth Annual Sustainability Report: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Decrease by More Than 1 Million Metric Tons
WASHINGTON — Demonstrating continued progress after five years of annual corporate sustainability reporting, the U.S. Postal Service recently released its 2012 Annual Sustainability Report, highlighting accomplishments including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste and facility energy use.
The Postal Service reported a 9.9 percent decrease, or 1.3 million metric tons, in greenhouse gas.