Newspaper publishers better get used to higher newsprint costs, especially as producers keep prices firm in their quest to achieve market equilibrium.

Newsprint is now priced at about $700 per metric ton, a level that doesn’t appear to be ebbing anytime soon.

Yet cost is just one side of the equation: Despite higher prices, newsprint quality is not necessarily improving, particularly with paper stocks sporting recycled content grades and lighter weights.

Mills are using lower quality recycled fibers as a matter of course and are running their machines with reduced drying rates. Cost pressures over the past several years have sapped mills’ ability to upgrade their equipment with newer technology to alleviate these issues.

As a result, newspapers are seeing more problems with linting, strike-through/show-through and breaks, even as their production requirements grow more complex with more color and diverse runs.

Market forces dictate

How did we get here? Easy. Very poor financial returns forced mills over the years to cut their production capacity.

Indeed, almost 25 percent of North America’s newsprint capacity has been shuttered or converted since its peak in the late 1990s.

 

At the same time, mills, like almost every other vendor segment, have consolidated. The top three producers now control more than 50 percent of production and the top five almost 80 percent.

Foreign producers have little incentive to export their newsprint into the United States because they fetch better prices in Hong Kong, Eastern Europe and even Latin America. And we’re not likely to see any new newsprint machines built through the remainder of this decade.

It is safe to assume that as press speeds continue upward, inks get tackier, aqueous systems gain acceptance and plates get cheaper, newspaper production staffs will continue to battle with linting and optical problems well into the future.

How can publishers deal with these problems?

Let’s first explore linting. Linting is caused by small particles that deposit themselves on press blankets. These can be “stuff” coming off the paper surface, ink surface, or plain old dust. There are a variety of methods used to test for lint, but no internationally recognized standard, so it’s difficult to assign blame to a particular mill or newsprint roll.

To keep track of linting, consider a regular evaluation of blankets prior to wash-up by taking lint samples from a specific area of the blanket and saving a few prints.

The press also contributes to blanket fouling, depositing such elements as ink “skin,” pigments and brush hairs. When you evaluate performance, consider press conditions, inks, fountain solutions, nip pressure and everything about the blanket you can gather.

Publishers can also conduct tests, using internationally recognized assessments like the wax pick test and ink rub to determine trends.

Low weight issues

Publishers are doing their best to reduce costs regardless of what goes on at the paper mill.

Trimming web widths to less than 50 inches is a given, and the Berliner format, pioneered in the U.S. by the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, Ind., is drawing interest.

Newspapers are also trying to maximize yield by reducing the basis weight of newsprint from 48.8-gram (30-pound) to 45-gram (27.7-pound) paper.

The mills have responded to this move, however, by increasing the price of lighter basis weight newsprint, thus eliminating much of the perceived cost benefit. Reducing trim and weight impacts operations and product quality.  Bringing in the trim puts the focus on the edges, especially their looseness, wetness and tightness. Press operator experience and training are really the big solutions here - and not much else. Visual inspection of the edges (edge quality), taking a roll hardness measurement and keeping knives sharp will all help maintain trim integrity.

Tensions and re-wet are most critical in avoiding breaks. Naturally, the more modern presses or those with high-tech tension control should be able to handle the lighter weight.

Check and check again

Check fountain solutions and ink tack, especially on color, to reduce picking that could lead to a break.

Off-line paper tests like tear and tensile will also be helpful in evaluating the change in strength.

Show-through and strike-through are challenges in the final product. Inspecting incoming stock will eliminate most problems.

Additionally, work with your ink suppliers to balance blacks and colors. Ink coverage, wet film thickness and fountain solutions could provide some early warning signals, especially if proofing steps using the new stock were performed prior to switching to lighter weight newsprint. This is particularly important if you are considering a move to 43-gram, or lower, newsprint on anything but virgin stock.

The alternative is to consider newsprint made under alkaline conditions or those with opacifying minerals, higher amounts of southern pine pulps, hot-soft nip treated stock, on machines that make directory papers and thin uncoated freesheet stocks.

Michael Ducey is a writer and researcher in the pulp, paper and printing industries. He contributes to technical and business journals about paper, printing, packaging and converting, and publishes market research reports for a worldwide client base. He can be contacted by e-mail at paperinfo@excite.com.