Research Reveals Overcrowded Woodfree Paper Market

A three-month survey taking in 13 countries and over 2,500 printers has revealed that around 100 brands of woodfree coated paper are available in the European market.

A three-month survey taking in 13 countries and over 2,500 printers has revealed that around 100 brands of woodfree coated paper are available in the European market.

That is a situation that concerns a number of printers, according to Robert Horne Group.

The survey was undertaken by Hello, Europe's woodfree coated paper in the graphic arts sector, to provide a country-by-country insight in to Hello's ranking with European printers and identify the key product characteristics that printers want from paper.

David Allen, the managing director of Robert Horne Group, said: "This is the first time anyone has done anything on this scale or in such depth, not least because Hello is the only brand with such a pan-European reach." Asked to name the top four features a woodfree paper has to provide, printers were unanimous in calling for consistency, print impact, ink drying and runability, placing equal emphasis on those four characteristics, said the company.

Printers were overall very pleased with Hello's quality and performance on the top four features.

When asked if and how it could be improved, 33 per cent of the respondents asked for better ink setting and drying.

Other requests included several relating to potential packaging developments.

Asked what other brands than Hello they used, printers named almost 100 brands, most of them locally-branded products.

The main reason for using another brand was price, although in a number of cases the printer's client specified a particular brand.

Ten other brands in addition to Hello were used by 44 per cent of the printers surveyed, with Garda taking the major share (14 per cent) and no other brand attracting more than four per cent of the sample.

Said Allen: "It's clear that there are too many brands, but not enough added value, and that despite the efforts of paper mills and paper merchants the market remains overcrowded - in fact, some printers feel it's saturated.

In this situation they recognise the benefits of having a pan-European brand in the shape of Hello - a paper that delivers on all the key characteristics across all markets." Allen added that the survey - the full results of which can be found on-line at the Hello website - has given Hello the first overview of the brand since its launch in 1998.

Allen explained: "It has given us vital insights for the future development of Hello and has confirmed that Hello is delivering what it set out to do.

We will continue through a cycle of continuous communication, to reach out to printers across Europe, find out what they want and then use that feedback to develop the best possible products and services that meet, and where possible exceed, the printers' needs." The company said that it intends to repeat the Hello customer survey at regular intervals in the future to ensure that the brand stays ahead of European printers' changing requirements.

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