For Publishing, The Times, They Are A-Changin!

If you've been in the paper business for more than a few years you probably recognize that line from the legendary Bob Dylan's lyrics "The Times, they are a-changin."

Mass Consolidation

During the last few decades, we've seen massive consolidation in the paper industry.

In North America, overall paper capacity has been reduced by enormous amounts, resulting in a handful of mills controlling the remaining tons in their market segment.

Older machinery has been removed from the market, leaving manufacturers with mostly new, computerized paper machines. Better machinery can blur the lines between high and low-quality paper. For example, if you have a customer who uses a traditional coated #3 free-sheet grade for their product, it may be time to show them a high-bright coated groundwood.

Decades ago, the difference between the free-sheet coated grade, and the groundwood coated grade was starkly apparent.  Today?  A few points in brightness separate the two, and printed ink gloss is about the same. Your customer can save thousands on their print job by slightly lowering their sights.

Athens represents two of the market juggernauts in heavy weight coated groundwood papers:  Evergreen, and Resolute Forest Products.  Both offer coated #4 grades in brightness up to 84.
For catalogs and magazines, both Resolute and Evergreen's line-up of coated #5 papers are excellent choices.

To save money, Athens has many high-performance super-calendared options. Port Hawkesbury Paper offers Artisan, a 76-bright SCA++ grade, and Resolute makes 71-bright Resolute SCA+.

To see our complete mill listing, DOWNLOAD THIS PDF

Embrace change, and make it your friend!  Contact your Athens rep with questions and inquiries, and we'll help you find the best paper for your project.