Merchants revealed price increases of up to 15%, as of 1 June, and some warned that there may be further rises in the autumn.

A recent printweek.com poll found that 40% of printers have been paying between 11-20% extra for coated paper over the past 12 months, while 34% said the cost had increased more than 20%. 

KCS Trade Print managing director Terrye Teverson said printers would have no choice but to pass on rises to customers when the third round of increases in the past six months hits in June.

"There is a fear that people will start looking around and this puts extra instability on to the marketplace. If printers are going to stay in business, we have to put our prices up; if people want us to survive, they have to cope with that."

Simon Beard, sales director at Victoria Litho, has sent an open letter to clients, informing them that, since this time last year, paper merchants have made increases of nearly 40%.

"Victoria Litho is left with only one option and will regrettably have to pass on this extra paper cost to all its customers," it read.

He said the merchants' announcements had been "received with disgust" (For the full text of Beard's letter, see page 19 of this week's PrintWeek).

Nigel Cliffe, Cliffe Associates managing director, said the increases added to mounting pressures facing print businesses.
"There is so much damaging news around just now, not just confined to paper and print, that people are simply rolling with the punches," he said.

"The actual effect is so hard to determine from the sliding scale of making a margin or breaking even that I find it hard to put an actual percentage on the net price increase. However, in an ironic kind of way, seeing an increase would be a good thing for the state of print."

However, Peter Wise, managing director of Minuteman Press Bristol, claimed increasing prices would be a last resort for the company.

"We will not pass on any increases and would rather change suppliers. We are appalled and astonished at print manufacturers' poor negotiating skills."

Printweek.com poll results...
We asked printers how much has the overall cost of coated paper increased over the past 12 months?
5% said by 0-2%
5% said 3-5%
15% said 6-10%
40% said 11-20%
34% said more than 20%