FutureMark Paper Launches New Brand

http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20130905006548/en/FutureMark-Paper/Future-Jet/digital-inket-paper

FutureMark^® Paper Group, North America’s leading provider of responsibly made recycled printing papers, today announced the launch of Future Jet^TM, the industry’s first high-recycled, coated digital inkjet paper. Compatible with both dye- and pigment-based printers, Future Jet offers publishers and commercial printers excellent print quality on the greenest paper available.
A pioneer in sustainable paper solutions, FutureMark tapped a group of leading paper and coating scientists to assist in the creation of the industry’s first coated digital inkjet paper made with more than 90% recycled fiber. Following two years of development and testing, the resulting Future Jet product offers a high quality recycled digital inkjet solution for book publishers, direct mail providers and commercial printers. Customer tests indicate Future Jet offers high print quality, even on four-color applications where there are demanding facial tones and heavy coverage forms.
FutureMark has tested Future Jet with various printers and digital inkjet OEMs, including Ricoh’s market-leading InfoPrint 5000 and Screen (USA). Future Jet will be on display at PRINT 2013 (September 8-12, 2013; McCormick Place; Chicago, IL) in Ricoh’s booth #1931.

More Mills Announce Pulp Price Hike for Europe

West Fraser informed European customers that its northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) market pulp prices would increase $20/tonne, effective with September orders, industry contacts said.
West Fraser's $20/tonne increase would bring its price to $880/tonne in Europe. That's the same list price several competitors previously announced.
Metsä Fibre - the first producer to announce a European price increase on Aug. 22 - as well as Canfor Pulp, Mercer International, Sodra, and Stora Enso each separately announced $880/tonne list levels on NBSK.
The European hike from West Fraser came after it previously announced a $20/tonne increase across Asia that was effective Sept. 1. 

Stora Enso on Aug. 29 started to inform customers in Europe of a price adjustment on northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp to be effective in September, RISI has learned.

The new price for NBSK is $880/tonne, according to Stora Enso, and it is motivated by healthy demand seen in the region in the last months. 

Possible Buyer for Wausau's Brainerd Mill

http://www.startribune.com/local/222529911.html

A Wausau Paper plant in the east-central Minnesota city of Brainerd might have a potential buyer.

City officials aren't releasing the name, but a purchase could be good news after the mill's closure in April cost about 130 workers their jobs.

City administrator Theresa Goble told the Brainerd Dispatch (http://bit.ly/17Hfdsa ) Wednesday that local officials will soon meet with the potential buyer "to discuss options or alternatives that might be available to facilitate the return of the mill to productive operations."

"We hope it works out with the potential buyer," City Councilman Gary Scheeler said. "To put a business in this plant would be extremely good news for the area. It's too early to tell exactly what the outcome will be."

Wausau Paper officials did not return the newspaper's phone call for comment.

USPS Board of Governors Discuss Exigent Rate Hike

http://www.dmnews.com/exigent-rate-increase-is-discussed-by-postal-governors/article/310624/

The Postal Board of Governors yesterday discussed the possibility of filing for price adjustments, raising the prospect of an exigent postal rate increase and inciting business mailers to cry more loudly for reform.
“They've been watching Congress do nothing for the past four years and they think they've got to do something to keep things running. Absent any legislative reform, their only recourse is to go with exigency,” said Hamilton Davison, president and executive director of the American Catalog Mailers Association.
Davison and other representatives of volume mailers held a conference with the Board before its meeting, during which they laid out the damaging effects an exigent increase would have on their businesses, as well as the United States Postal Service (USPS). “The idea is so repugnant that the industry has to stop and focus on nothing but knocking exigency back,” Davison declared.
The governors issued a statement following yesterday's meeting saying that have postponed final decisions on pricing until their next scheduled meeting on September 24 to 25. In the interim, they said they would continue to listen to the input of stakeholders in the mailing industry.

National Geographic Consolidates Travel Assets into New Group

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/national-geographic-consolidates-travel-assets-new-group#.UiooiryYyKw

Print, digital, expedition and book products now united under common branding. 
Publishers that have brand platforms with multiple consumer-facing assets have been increasingly pulling those products—and the teams that produce them—closer together, uniting them under a common, branded grouping. National Geographic Society recently did this with its Traveler assets, consolidating its books, expeditions, workshops, magazine and digital properties under a new Travel Group.
"We have this vast array of travel assets," says Lynn Cutter, who heads up the new group as executive vice president. "By bringing them together, we have a lot more power.

MediaPost Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208474/mag-bag-domino-returns-as-quarterly.html#axzz2e8rrjb7g

Time Inc. Unveils Time Engage
Time Inc. is hoping to woo advertisers back to print with a new ad-targeting service, Time Engage -- which draws on a variety of reader data, including online, to deliver ads more efficiently, according to Ad Age. In some cases the service combines third-party data on print, Web, and mobile readership with advertisers’ own proprietary information to identify likely prospects through demographic and behavioral models. Advertisers must commit to a substantial (but as-yet-unstated) amount of ad spending with Time Inc. before the service becomes available. Conde Nast Invests in Vestiaire
Conde Nast’s appetite for e-commerce holdings is undiminished, judging by yet another investment in another e-commerce platform. Conde is leading a $20 million round of funding in Vestiaire Collective, an online emporium that enables fashionistas to buy and sell pre-owned luxury items. Domino Returns As Quarterly
Domino the modish shelter title targeting young women that was shut down by Conde Nast in January 2009, is returning as a quarterly publication, according to Women’s Wear Daily, which first reported the news.
The revived brand will include an e-commerce site, as well as the print edition of the magazine, WWD reports, possibly produced in collaboration with existing home furnishings e-commerce site Project Décor, which may be rebranded to highlight the Domino connection. AIM Buys 3 Canadian Mags Active Interest Media has acquired three magazines -- Clean Eating, Oxygen, and MuscleMag International -- from Robert Kennedy Publishing, a Canadian publisher which entered bankruptcy in June of this year, following the death of its namesake founder in April of last year. All three titles will become part of AIM’s Healthy Living Group, which also includes titles like Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal.

Folio: People on the Move

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/people-move-9-5-13#.UiooyLyYyKw

Hearst Magazines promoted Carrie L. Cullen to associate publisher of HGTV Magazine. Cullen had served as advertising director for the home lifestyle title since it launched in 2012.

Hallmark Data Systems, LLC promoted former chief operating officer Steve Crowe to general manager. Crowe joined the company in 2010 after 15 years in the consumer marketing division of Time Inc.
Alan Quarry appointed to BPA Worldwide/CCAB Board of Directors and executive committee. Quarry is also director of the boards of North Waterloo Farmers Mutual Insurance Company and the Golden Triangle Angel Investor Network.
Elizabeth Thorp appointed editor-in-chief of Capitol File magazine, effective immediately.  Thorp, a luxury travel journalist, brings 21 years of experience in public affairs an editorial to the post.

July Commercial Print Ships Fall

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/09/july-commercial-printing-shipments-disappoint-at-2-5-june-shipments-data-revised-sharply-downward/

July 2013 printing shipments were $6.09 billion, down -$156 million compared to 2012 (-2.5%). On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$278 million (-4.4%). June shipments were revised significantly downward, -$349 million, as has been the pattern of Commerce Department revisions for the past few years. June shipments are now reported as $5.98 billion, the lowest monthly level since January 1993 (in current dollars), when the current data series began. June is the first month below $6 billion in current dollars since that time.

New Time Inc. Chief on Board

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296 
Joe Ripp started as CEO of Time Inc. on Tuesday. His “first big pronouncements” are expected next Wednesday, during a town hall-type meeting with the company’s top 250 executives and managers, reports NY Post.
NY Post

Two Sides Contests Report UK Report

http://whattheythink.com/news/65211-two-sides-contests-new-report-which-claims-uk-government-could-save-70-billion-going-paperless/

Two Sides response
The promised financial and efficiency benefits claimed in the report will of course find enormous support with cash strapped Government Departments and any increased efficiency cannot be argued against. Yet this initiative appears to have a one-sided view which fails to take into account of the full impact that its implementation will have on UK citizens and the significant economic effect that digitisation is having on the print and paper related industries. Perhaps this is not a consideration for the authors of the report but Government needs to be wary of unforeseen downstream consequences.
In the UK, paper manufacture and printing employs 158,000 people and has a turnover of £21 billion - and this does not account for the enormous economic contribution from, and the thousands more employed in, the publishing, post and mail related industries. Therefore, before pursuing a digital agenda, Government must seriously consider not only the case for print and paper reduction but also arguments for its retention where it remains a vital and preferred means of communication. 

Fire at Verso Jay Mill, No Damage

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/0001/11/30/firefighters-extinguish-fire-pipe-jay-paper-mill-s/1417859

About 40 firefighters from three towns responded to a fire at Verso Paper Corp.'s Androscoggin Mill at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Verso's fire brigade fought the fire before they arrived.
No one was injured.
The fire was in an insulated gas pipe outside the paper mill between the power house and the pulp mill, Jay Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Booker said Tuesday.
The pipe is part of a non-condensable gas pipeline, he said. It is about a 6-inch pipe with 2 inches of insulation over it and then aluminum coating.
Firefighters from Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls fought the fire from ladder trucks and were assisted by the mill's firefighters, Booker said.
There was very little smoke coming from the 50-foot section of pipe when firefighters arrived, he said. They could see a little fire once they cut into the aluminum coating to get to the insulation. They pulled out the insulation, he said.
He estimated they were at the scene about three hours.

Lecta Closing Coated Woodfree Mill

http://www.euwid-paper.com/news/singlenews/Artikel/lecta-slips-in-the-red-in-h1-2013.html

The first half of 2013 has been a loss making period for the coated woodfree and specialty paper group Lecta. The group posted a net loss of €37.9m and an operating loss of €9,5m, compared to a net profit of €18.3m and an operating profit of €42.4m in the corresponding period a year ago; Net sales increased by 3% to €810.1m on higher sales of coated woodfree paper, specialties and trading goods, Lecta reported. An increase of €36/t in average net sales prices related to the acquisition of the paper merchant Polyedra and the corresponding improvement in product mix also had a positive impact on sales in the January-June 2013 period.

Torraspapel's Uranga paper mill closing for good; Polyedra will abandon three warehouses to adapt to Italy's market

In addition to the definitive closure of the 130,000 tpy coated woodfree paper machine PM 6 at the Condat paper mill in France, Lecta has initiated restructuring processes at different subsidiaries in Spain, Italy and France. Among other things, the group decided to install a second-hand base paper machine at the Zaragoza mill and increase production capacity at the site by 80,000 tpy in order to optimise "the use of pulp produced on the site, thus reducing drying and transportation costs of pulp to other mills," Lecta explained. This would lead to a permanent closure of Torraspapel's Uranga paper mill in Spain, where Lecta's subsidiary is producing some 27,000 tpy of base paper for specialty grades.

Howe Sound P&P CEO Steps Down

http://www.coastreporter.net/article/20130901/SECHELT0101/309019998/-1/sechelt0101/palmiere-s-departure-from-hssp-confirmed

Mac Palmiere is no longer serving in the position of president and chief executive officer of Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP), the mill's owners have confirmed.

"We can confirm that Mac Palmiere is no longer the CEO of HSPP and no one has permanently taken over in that capacity as of yet," Jessica Ko, in-house lawyer for Paper Excellence Canada Holdings Corp., said in an email to Coast Reporter on Aug. 26.

The company did not provide any further details about the management change.

Stora Operations Drawing Attention

http://www.storaenso.com/

Stora Enso's practices in China have received renewed attention in the media recently, with the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat publishing details from an internal company report. The company's Indian operations have also come under scrutiny with an investigation carried out by the two NGOs Finnwatch and Swedwatch. The reports suggest that Stora Enso still has some work to do in both countries when it comes to land issues and working conditions.

Helsingin Sanomat got hold of an internal social work assessment report, prepared by Luo Yang, Stora Enso's manager of sustainable development in China, based on background material collected in autumn 2011. The focus lies on Guangxi in southern China, where Stora Enso plans to build an integrated board and pulp mill and where it has rented more than 90,000 hectares of land, used mainly as eucalyptus plantations.
In recent years local farmers have said that they have been forced to sometimes lease their land without pay or at a very low price. The farmers have complained of threats, demolished homes and other abuse.
In response, Stora Enso has said that it does not rent land in disputed areas or at unfair prices, and has blamed the misconduct on the local Chinese authorities, Helsingin Sanomat said.

Magazines Ready Offensive as Possible Exigent Rates Near

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/magazines-ready-offensive-possible-exigent-rates-near#.UiiiD7yYyKw

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/magazines-ready-offensive-possible-exigent-rates-near#.UiiiD7yYyKw 
Direct mailers are up in arms and banding together as the United States Postal Service (USPS) circles a potential exigent rate increase for 2014. With the USPS Postal Board of Governors set to convene on Sept. 5 and expected to discuss a possible path toward solvency, periodical publishers are preparing to argue against what they believe is an additional financial burden. 

According to Cregan, Washington, D.C. insiders are expecting the USPS to pursue an exigent rate increase of up to 10 percent across the board for magazines, effective Jan. 2014. The estimated figure is based on precedent set by the 2010 filing in which the USPS requested a 5.5 percent across the board rate increase for all mailers plus 3 percent for magazines and catalogues, which they claimed were not covering their full costs, and an added adjustment for inflation. The unexpected cost is a huge budgetary consideration for subscription-based periodicals that rely on mail on the ground for circulation distribution.
The MPA says that magazines spend about $3 billion annually on postage. With the addition of a 10 percent increase, the industry would now be on the hook for $300 million in unplanned costs in 2014.
The MPA is concerned that the added monetary drain could force publishers to move toward digital or even shutter titles. Any dips in print circulation would decrease the overall volume of mail, hurting an already wounded USPS.
B-to-b mailers also face significant financial burdens if the exigent rate were to increase. The Association of Business Information & Media Companies (ABM) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), a joint trade organization representing media and information companies, including those that publish b-to-b industry magazines and newsletters, polled its members—publishers of more than 600 print periodical titles—in July to determine the expense of an added rate increase.

Time's SI Launches Weekly NFL Show

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/sports-illustrated-launches-weekly-live-nfl-show-152206

Today marks the beginning of the NFL season, and Sports Illustrated is kicking off the festivities with the debut of a new live web show, Pro Football Now presented by John Hancock.

The weekly, half-hour series—a spinoff of SI’s current daily live web series, SI Now—will broadcast live from Time Inc.’s new digital video studios every Thursday morning at 10:30. Pro Football Now will be hosted by SI anchor Maggie Gray and former New York Giants player (and Super Bowl winner) Amani Toomer, while a rotating cast of other NFL experts—including SI writers like Peter King and Don Banks—will make regular guest appearances. The inaugural episode features the Giants’ wide receiver Victor Cruz previewing week one games.

Time Turns to Reader Data To Lure Marketers

http://adage.com/article/media/time-drawing-reader-data-lure-marketers/243918/
Time Inc., bracing for a spin-off from Time Warner early next year, is rolling out an ad product called Time Engage that's designed to use the company's vast reader data to better target ads not just in digital media but in print. 
Johnson & Johnson has recently signed on for Engage, which began as a pilot program in 2012, and Time Inc. is looking for other takers. 
The pilot last year saw Toyota, one of Time Inc.'s 10 biggest advertisers, and its agency Saatchi LA try to use Engage to raise awareness of its Venza cross-over among baby boomers, according to the companies. 
The effort combined data on more than 137 million Time Inc. print, web and mobile readers that Time Inc. derived from third-party sources, some of which included the use of cookies, with information Toyota and Saatchi have collected on the automaker's consumers. Time Inc. used this third-party data to build models that helped identify who fit into the active boomer category and on which Time Inc. title and platform to best reach them, a Time Inc. spokeswoman said.