Postal Remedy: New, Lighter Papers

Ever since the U.S. Postal Service implemented the first of several blockbuster double-digit rate increases back in the late 1980s and early ’90s, many catalogers have been readying themselves for subsequent rate hikes with cost-cutting measures. The most prevalent one has been, and continues to be, a reduction in paper weight, as well as trim size.

Many mailers have trimmed about as much as they can over the years from their books’ dimensions. And with a 9 percent increase in Standard mail postage looming for next spring, which comes on the heels of another postage increase earlier this year, testing out lighter paper grades to lower their postage tabs has become an ongoing process for some catalogers.

St. Meinrad, Ind.-based religious gifts mailer Abbey Press about six months ago began experimenting with supercalendered paper for its Abbey Press, You and Yours and Collections catalogs, says CEO Gerald Wilhite. He tried several configurations previously, but decided that supercalendered paper worked best on the inner pages. For covers and outside wraps, Abbey used a stock that was heavier, whiter and double coated.

Of the tests, “We received the response we had hoped for in the catalogs with the contents portion on the supercalendered paper,” Wilhite says. Response was positive enough for Abbey Press to continue to use it for the inner portions of those same three catalogs this fall.

Among other mailers, Arlington Heights, Ill.-based gifts cataloger Design Toscano went from 36 lb to a 32 lb rotogravure stock about six years ago, says Erik Martinez, vice president of marketing.

“We’re always focused on postage, so early on we started looking at different ways we could do that by dropping our basis weight,” he says.

About two-and-a-half years ago, Design Toscano began testing new paper for its offset printed sale inserts. When the company tested a 32 lb, high bulk paper, it saved $10,000 and didn’t see a drop in response, Martinez says.

Test All the Time

Mailers such as Design Toscano and others are testing various paper weights all the time. “You should be testing all the time, anyway,” says Phil Minix, former senior vice president at crafts books cataloger Reiman Publications, who recently was named president of multititle general merchandise cataloger Astral Direct. “It shouldn’t be just because of postal increases,” he adds. “I’ve never had a downgraded paper test lose. The cost savings have always outweighed the response decline.”

Minix previously tested 33 lb, No. 4 basis weight supercalendered and a 45 lb, No. 4 for the cover — ahead of the 2002 postal increase.

For the Astral Direct catalogs he oversees — Linda Anderson, The Music Stand and Characters — “All those titles have room to test down,” Minix says. Even for upscale titles, including those at Astral, Minix suggests: “Test down one grade. Then you’ll know.”

That’s if you can find the right paper to test. John Sangster, vice president of Miners Inc., a cataloger of mining and engineering supplies, hasn’t found a lighter weight paper that can handle the amount of black-and-white pictures Miners Inc. uses on its 224-page, digest-size catalog without bleeding through. “We’re using 40 lb,” he says. “We’d like to go below 40, but for the amount of pictures that we use, I don’t think we can.”

While many other catalogers also are opting to try lighter papers, some are just reducing circulation. Miami-based cosmetics cataloger Key West Aloe used to publish three, 24-page catalogs a year, but reduced it to one after the 2002 postal increases, says CEO Nalin Patel.

Key West Aloe sends out 50,000 catalogs in late July and supplements the main book with two postcards and one glossy flier, says its graphic designer, Vanessa Torres. She has researched other options, but still uses 60 lb, glossy text paper. “If there’s something new out there, I’ll ask the printer for advice,” she says. “But right now we’re in a safe zone, and we can’t do any less.”

Vendors Prepared

Knowing that this year’s postal rate increase was forthcoming and another one in 2007 is looming, most paper manufacturers contacted have been rapidly offering newer, less costly sheets for catalogers. Bowater Inc. began canvassing catalog customers and prospects to see what it could do to help them keep future mailing costs down. “They said they wanted a lightweight, high bulking sheet that runs like a heavyweight product and prints the same or better than what they were currently using,” says Bowater’s Marketing Director Jim Colwell. The end result is that Bowater is marketing lighter weight papers to postage-sensitive catalogers.

In Bowater’s case, the vendor in July launched a freesheet hybrid paper called BowHybrid to address high postal costs. By blending bleached kraft pulp with bleached mechanical pulp, it provides strength, bulk and high opacity at light basis weights. A light coating helps with printability and reduces ink-dot gain. With a 42.5 lb basis weight, BowHybrid feels like a 50 lb, uncoated freesheet, but uses 42 percent wood fiber.

Another new catalog paper is BowEco, which Bowater launched in late August. A coated mechanical No. 5 with 20 percent recycled content, BowEco comes in basis weights from 32 lb to 40 lb, Colwell says. It enables catalogers that have been using 40 lb or 38 lb catalog paper to drop to a lighter basis weight to achieve postage savings.

Likewise, Stora Enso is offering a lightweight coated web paper called NovaPress Advantage, available in basis weights from 36 lb to 50 lb, according to Brian Cummins, Stora Enso’s product and value chain manager for publication papers. The product offers the same caliper and opacity of a freesheet grade that’s 4 pounds to 5 pounds heavier, but can save about 10 percent in postage and distribution costs, he says.

Verso Paper, formerly Inter-national Paper’s coated and supercalendered papers unit, recently introduced Advocate EHB (enhanced high bulk). A No. 5 coated groundwood, it bulks similar to a paper 4 pounds heavier, compared to Verso’s traditional high bulk offering that had increased bulk by 2 pounds, says Larry McCree, Verso’s market segment manager for catalogs.

They could also “optimize postal costs, going from a piece/pound rate to a piece rate,” said Sharad Agarwal, Verso’s product manager for coated groundwood products.

Another new Verso product aimed at catalogers looking to lighten or stabilize their postage bill is Lightweight Liberty, a No. 4 coated groundwood that has basis weights as low as 32 lb, McCree says. The paper is suited to catalogers who need high-end clarity to show fine details. “It lets them maintain their brand clarity and get the postal savings at the same time,” he says.

Douglas McAr-thur, senior vice president of UPM-Kymmene, describes UPM Smart as an SC-A- ++ product comparable to a coated groundwood No. 5 printed result if using uncoated inks. Available in basis weights 32.4 lb to 47.3 lb, it has the brightness of a No. 4, he claims. “More catalogers are taking an interest in the low basis weights,” McArthur says.«

Gail Kalinoski is a freelance business writer based in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Contact: gkalinoski@aol.com.