Q & A with Shannan Hodgson

Posted by Will Green 03/01/2012

With the myriad of options available these days for paper choices, finding the right one to do the job can be difficult for buyers – both commercial and consumer – but do printers know enough about their paper options to advise their customers on what is best? Should paper suppliers be doing more to educate printers?

We catch up with Shannan Hodgson, Corporate Affairs Manager of Arjowiggins Graphic to find out more. Click on any of the below titles to skip straight to that question:

1) How does Arjowiggins Graphic educate printers about the full range of papers?

Informing printers about the benefits of using recycled stocks and the full range of recycled papers available to them are key to Arjowiggins Graphic’s external communications strategy.

We work closely with a network of merchants to produce targeted marketing campaigns, such as direct mailers, that explain the benefits of using our recycled papers and help clients make educated decisions when choosing from the wide range of products available on the market. A recent mailer campaign, created in collaboration with Antalis McNaughton, asked printers “What is white, green and a bit of a show off?” and aimed to inform readers about the superb results that can be achieved with our Cocoon range, without compromising on environmental credentials.

As well as letting printers know about the full range of papers offered by Arjowiggins Graphic, the company also aims to encourage printers to choose recycled stocks by debunking commonly held myths about these materials. For example, many end-users still harbour the misguided belief that recycled papers are all off-white in colour, and provide only a sub-standard finish. The reality is that recycled papers can offer both more natural varieties – useful for clients looking for authenticity in their paper choice – and high levels of whiteness. What’s more, thanks to continuously evolving industrial processes, recycled papers can now deliver a print finish to rival that of any virgin fibre stock.

2) Do you feel the printers take this information on board and properly communicate options to end customers? Would you, or do you, go to end customers as well?

Absolutely. In fact, we’ve got research to prove how important printers are in communicating the benefits of using recycled papers to end-users.

According to a survey we carried out earlier in the year, printers are viewed as gate-keepers of information about which papers are right for any given print job and are in a strong position to influence purchasing decisions. Our research showed that one in four respondents rely solely on their dedicated printer for advice on which paper to buy.

With businesses more frequently looking to source supplies that match the requirements of their CSR policies, this presents a significant commercial opportunity for printers to provide clients with the most up-to-date information about appropriate sustainable materials for use in corporate print jobs, such as annual reports, mailers and leaflets.

This demonstrates that printers are in an excellent position to develop a consultancy role with clients based on advice about which paper companies should be printing on.

We also endeavour to communicate options to our end users and recently launched a new marketing campaign with customers at its core. The ‘it feels good’ campaign, which was created alongside top print company PurePrint and Antalis McNaughton, sought to demonstrate how companies can become more sustainable through the use of recycled paper and how they can use recycled paper to communicate key messages about their brand values.

Our unique Environmental Benefits Statement (EBS) was also created with end customers in mind. The EBS allows visitors to the Arjowiggins Graphic website (www.recycled-papers.co.uk) to input their paper usage for any print job that uses products in our range of recycled stocks and calculate the exact environmental savings they have made. The savings include the amount of waste diverted from landfill and how much water, electricity, CO2 emissions and wood have been saved as a result of choosing environmentally friendly papers.

3) Some printers have complained about the number of papers on the market that are essentially the same but called different things, and so they have called for some consolidation – are there too many options on the market that are too similar? Would a more consolidated approach make paper choices simpler for both printers and end clients?

As printing technology evolves and continues to become more complex and advanced, the paper industry is increasingly competitive. End users have a far wider range of papers available to choose from nowadays than ever before.

It’s important to offer variety in papers to allow companies the widest possible range of papers to choose from. With so many different shades, thicknesses and types, end-users are – with the help of a printer – able to pick exactly the right paper for their specific print job.

The key factor in making the selection process simple and straightforward is ensuring that manufacturers and suppliers equip printers with substantial information about product ranges, allowing them to simplify the selection process for their clients.

4) One printer has said that with print technology nowadays, he can standardise to a very limited set of paper stocks and recreate the effects of most of what else is available, saving him money – would you agree that this is possible?

Our priority as a manufacturer is providing papers that deliver the best possible results for end-users, without compromising on environmental integrity.

Whilst it may, indeed, be possible for printers to restrict product range and save money, it is our priority as a manufacturer to provide papers that deliver the best possible results for end-users.

Limiting the range of papers available could mean that the print results achieved are compromised. A variety of stocks ensures that printers don’t compromise on print finish and can select exactly the right paper for the right job, providing the best possible end results.

Restricting product ranges is also inadequate when it comes to recycled papers as, by their very nature, they are unique and offer a medium by which organisations can demonstrate their sustainable credentials, while keeping a premium quality feel.

5) It’s also been said that, faced with a choice of different papers or cheaper print jobs, most people will now go for the cheaper print job, even when recycled papers are concerned. With this in mind, would it be better for merchants/mills to invest in making the most popular papers cheaper rather than investing in new brands and ranges?

Many print professionals still believe the commonly held myth that recycled papers are drastically more expensive to buy than virgin fibre stocks. Arjowiggins Graphic offers cost-effective, environmentally friendly paper solutions to meet all print needs.

The recession saw costs being cut across the board and in many fields this superseded commitment to procuring sustainable materials. Recently, however, we have seen customers return their focus to securing sustainable products and quality is now one of the top two most important factors when making purchasing decisions. Combating myths about recycled papers on quality will allow printers to recommend papers that meet the environmental credentials that are now so important to clients, as well as the specific requirements of the individual print job.

6) Could the supply of this myriad of options be simpler and cheaper – having to store the left over from numerous different jobs of different papers can be expensive and cumbersome?

Offering printers simpler solutions when it comes to their recycling processes could provide a way to streamline and consolidate their workload. A closed-loop recycling system – picking up printers’ waste, recycling it, and delivering it back to the printer for reuse – can provide a way to cut on storage, and waste, that can often be both expensive and cumbersome.

To further reduce waste, printers need to ensure that they purchase only the number of sheets that a job requires plus enough overs for colour run-up and so forth. In addition they should make sure that, as far as is practical, they purchase sheets of a size best suited to a particular job.

7) Are there as many digital papers out there now as offset, or does litho still hold the more choice for printers looking to use different papers?

Digital printing is increasingly popular, so it’s important that manufacturers offer a competitive range of papers suitable for digital print jobs.

Producing recycled papers for digital print is at the top of Arjowiggins Graphic’s agenda and is an ever-evolving process. Challenges in the de-inking process and the need to improve the quality of these papers has led to a groundbreaking research partnership between Arjowiggins Graphic and HP.

The two companies have agreed to test new techniques for deinking on an industrial scale. After in-depth research and scale-up tests have been performed, optimized process conditions will be run at Arjowiggins Graphic’s state of the art de-inking plant at Greenfield in France and compared to the current process compatibility with digital prints.