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The past year has been anything but easy for manu­facturers of multipurpose papers, with, as usual, prices on the up.

“It has been difficult due to the number of price increases in the past 12 months in the office paper sector,” confirms Les Fautley, category manager for business papers at Robert Horne. Customers are now looking for value for money, he says, and this has seen more versatility in design and application, rather than bold effects that stand out. Also, softer textures are more popular. “Buyers don’t want anything too textured,” says Daniela Oberti, marketing co-ordinator at Fedrigoni UK.

Price concerns have been offset to some extent by the interest in environmental papers, which has provided a much-welcomed boost to the sector. “People are asking for more recycled content and FSC papers. The demand has been so huge we’ve increased our range,” says Oberti. Robert Horne’s Fautley adds that the rise in demand for recycled products is out-growing production right now.

Most buyers are requesting as much recycled content as available, but where this is not possible they are asking for virgin fibres with forest accreditations, like FSC and PEFC. 

Battling against adversity
The growing market for recycled content and environ­mentally friendly paper has seen manufacturers eager to stand out from the competition by highlighting the green credentials of their products. An example of this is carbon neutral accreditations. Premier Paper became the first UK paper merchant to achieve carbon neutral accreditation, while James McNaughton and Robert Horne are among

a number of other manufacturers also offering carbon neutral products. The raft of new green options underlines the diversity of the multipurpose paper market. Buyers are spoilt for choice, which could be a hindrance when it comes to choosing which paper to buy.                       

WHAT'S NEW IN MULTIPURPOSE PAPER
• In May, Fedrigoni launched The Environmental Range – a new swatch to showcase its portfolio of environmental papers. The 2008 guide features a range of coated, textured, uncoated and HP Indigo products
• The UK paper industry stood by its environmental reputation in January when The Confederation of Paper Industries backed the figures it publishes on levels of recycling within the UK. This came in the wake of Japanese paper manufacturers admitting to publishing misleading figures on levels of recycled material in their products
• In May, Howard Smith Paper launched a guide called The Power of Sustainable Print Communication Environmental Guide, which is targeted at the print industry. According to the Northampton-based paper merchant, the aim is to promote the use of sustainable-sourced paper
• PaperCo has introduced a new PEFC-certified tinted-paper range, called Fizz. The wood-free, uncoated paper features a matt surface and is suited for offset, letterpress, screen printing, inkjet and laser printing