More pulp price increases planned for 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of  you.
The future of  pulp seems a happy one for pulp manufacturers. 2010 is starting with a bang. Many mills are declaring  pulp price  increase.
Botnia, Canfor Pulp, Domtar, Mercer International, Sodria Cell and Tembec are announcing hikes for NBSK [northern bleached softwood kraft]. In Asia  particularly in China the price will be, on 1st Jan. 2010, USD 720 PMT ; both Tembec and Botnia for example announced an increase of USD 20.
Other grades seem to be heading " north " as well.

Vatican celebrates Christmas in environment friendly way

The Pope is getting a Christmas tree as usual but this time an environment friendly one, a PEFC certfied tree from the PEFC certified forests of Walloon Region of Belgium.

This tree placed in St. Peters Square , at the Vatican City , is incidentally, huge. It has a gigantic circumference of 2.65 metres and weighs  a heavy 14 metric tons!

PEFC stands for Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Conservation is a well known forest accreditation system.

Click here to read more
http://news.paperindex.com/Recycling_Environment/PEFC_Certified_Christmas_Tree_for_the_Vatican_City/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+pulpandpapernews+(Pulp+and+Paper+Industry+News)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Asia Pulp Paper

APP is a major paper supplier in the world especially in Malaysia. Sinar Mas, IKPP, Tjiwi Kimia and Pindo Deli are all familiar names to us here. Of course there are others as well, especially the APP mills in China.

This December APP is busy on a campaign to persuade the world that they are environmentally and socially responsible. On CNN International you can see APP's activities for conservation and biodiversity, reforestation, poverty reduction and concerns for climate change.

APP is committed to to fight against global warming, greenhouse gas emission and at the same time promoting sustainable economic development in Indonesia.

Pulp price rise but paper price steady in S.E.A.

Virgin pulp and recovered paper continue to rise but in South East Asia paper prices generally remain stable.
The law of demand and supply at work. Weak demand and excess supply has kept prices at bay even with increasing costs of raw materials.

For uncoated woodfree , the new paper machines recently in China has increased volumes of supply to S.E.A.
Mills also could not hike coated prices as mills in China and Indonesia are off loading big tonnages traditionally reserved for North America.

West Fraser increase pulp price

According to industry sources, West Fraser will increase USD30 pmt for NBSK, northern bleached softwood kraft, starting from 1st November.  With this increment NBSK now sells at USD 830 for  North America and Europe while a lower price goes for China and other parts of Asia.

IP makes more from Uncle Sam than on paper

International Paper received USD $525 million for black-liquor credits as compared to $233 pre-tax earnings for the 3rd qtr. One of the biggest in the paper industry IP has already been credited more than $1.5 billion and soon will surpass $2 billion by the end of this year when the program expires.

This Us legislature is intended to encourage the use of alternative fuel that combines traditional petroleum and plant-derived substances. IP by adding some diesel [minimum 0.1 % of the volume] to the black liquor normally used to power kraft-paper mills , qualifies for benefit of te credits.


Read more in
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/10/international-paper-drowns-its-sorrows.html

Coated paper in the USA

September apparently was a busy month in the USA  for coated paper or art paper [so called in Malaysia ] but unlike Malaysia and other Asian countries the price in North America  remains down.  Apart for some spot business
coated woodfree and coated mechanical prices are not moving up.

http://news.paperindex.com/Blogs_Columns/Coated_Paper_Market_Been_Down_So_Long_This_Looks_Like_Up/

November sees more increases

The world's largest bleached eucalyptus[BEK] manufacturer will increase prices in NOVEMBER. Fibria ,with 5.7million tonnes a yr will up prices. The new US price will be $730pmt, Europe$700 and Asia $660 pmt.

$40 or more pmt price increase

 There is likely to be further price increase for pulp price in Asia due to weak supply and strong demand in China. Suppliers are looking at $40 to$50 for per tonne for BHK [bleached hardwood pulp], $30 pmt for bleached and $40 pmt  for unbleached softwppd kraft.

Recovered paper steady

SEA demand pushed recovered paper prices up.
Despite of China's lackluster demand ,prices of recovered paper actually increased. This is due to lack of supply and stable orders from Southeast Asian mills

Supply from USA, Japan and Europe have been limited.


Lower-end prices for old corrugated containers - from the US, Europe and Japan - are up $5/tonne, as are US new double-lined kraft clippings and pulp substitutes.

US old newspapers have climbed $10/tonne and European and Japanese volumes by $5/tonne.

PEFC celebrates The Economist’s endorsement

All printed copies of the Economist will carry the logo of PEFC [ Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Conservation]. The Economist is a well recognized magazine dealing in news and economics since 1843. PEFC is particularly successful in UK since its inception in 1999.
The Economist's production director has this to say, "The Economist Group, which owns The Economist, takes environmental issues seriously. We want to demonstrate to our readers that The Economist is committed to sourcing its paper from sustainably managed sources and the PEFC certification scheme is an excellent way for us to do this."


http://news.paperindex.com/Recycling_Environment/PEFC_celebrates_The_Economistrsquos_endorsement/

October pulp prices

Worldwide list of producers increasing October market pulp prices

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2009 (RISI) - Market pulp producers are now pushing to implement $30-50/tonne price increases in North America, Western Europe, and Asia, effective with October shipments. RISI has mapped the price increases by producer, region, and effective date.

Arauco, the world's second-largest producer, was the first major to kick off the latest round of price increases when it slated $30-$40/tonne hikes on bleached radiata pine, unbleached softwood (UBK), and bleached eucalyptus (BEK) in China on Sept. 18. Donghae Pulp was the first producer to come out with an October increase, slating a $50/tonne increase in China on its hardwood Sept. 4.

Northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) major Canfor Pulp on Sept. 18 moved its Oct. 1 prices up $30/tonne in North America -- the continent's first price increase on any grade -- as well as in Asia, where it has a similar increase on specialty UBK.

The Vancouver-headquartered firm later added Europe to the regions it would raise prices by $30/tonne, to $770/tonne after major European producer Sodra came out with a $30/tonne increase, at $760/tonne.

Those producers set the tone in North America and Europe. Various North American producers including Domtar, West Fraser, Tembec, and SFK Pulp, among others all planned US NBSK prices at $770/tonne, while Rottneros, Botnia, and Mercer went for $760/tonne in Europe.

In hardwood kraft, Fibria flexed its muscles on Sept. 21 as a newly formed company with some 5.7 million tonnes/yr of BEK capacity, telling customers worldwide that it would lift prices $50/tonne. Other BEK producers such as Suzano and CENIBRA later moved their Oct. 1 prices up $50/tonne as well.

Northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) producers last week came out with their own $50/tonne price increases. Alberta-Pacific (Alpac), Domtar, and Sappi Fine Paper North America told customers they'd increase prices mostly $50/tonne in their key markets.

Southern bleached hardwood kraft (SBHK) meanwhile will see producers Domtar and Parsons & Whittemore (P&W) go for $50/tonne increases in the USA.

P&W also has a $50/tonne SBHK hike to Europe, as well as $30/tonne increases on southern bleached softwood kraft (SBSK) in both regions.

International Paper was the first SBHK and SBSK producer to slate higher October prices in the USA when it moved on Sept. 24. The same day, Tembec moved up its prices in Europe on the grades, which is made at its French mills.

Greenhouse gas, global warming

Irresponsible deforestation is one of the major causes of greenhouse effect and global warming. I thought it will still be good to understand more about it. The following article is from http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/greenhouse.htm?nl=1

The “greenhouse effect” often gets a bad rap because of its association with global warming, but the truth is we couldn’t live without it. What Causes the Greenhouse Effect?
Life on earth depends on energy from the sun. About 30 percent of the sunlight that beams toward Earth is deflected by the outer atmosphere and scattered back into space. The rest reaches the planet’s surface and is reflected upward again as a type of slow-moving energy called infrared radiation.
As it rises, infrared radiation is absorbed by “greenhouse gases” such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and methane, which slows its escape from the atmosphere.
Although greenhouse gases make up only about 1 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, they regulate our climate by trapping heat and holding it in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the planet.
This phenomenon is what scientists call the "greenhouse effect." Without it, scientists estimate that the average temperature on Earth would be colder by approximately 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit), far too cold to sustain our current ecosystem.
How Do Humans Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect?
While the greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on Earth, there really can be too much of a good thing.
The problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature.

• Burning natural gas, coal and oil —including gasoline for automobile engines—raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Some farming practices and land-use changes increase the levels of methane and nitrous oxide.
• Many factories produce long-lasting industrial gases that do not occur naturally, yet contribute significantly to the enhanced greenhouse effect and “global warming” that is currently under way.
• Deforestation also contributes to global warming. Trees use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen in its place, which helps to create the optimal balance of gases in the atmosphere. As more forests are logged for timber or cut down to make way for farming, however, there are fewer trees to perform this critical function.
• Population growth is another factor in global warming, because as more people use fossil fuels for heat, transportation and manufacturing the level of greenhouse gases continues to increase. As more farming occurs to feed millions of new people, more greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere.

Ultimately, more greenhouse gases means more infrared radiation trapped and held, which gradually increases the temperature of the Earth’s surface and the air in the lower atmosphere.
The Average Global Temperature is Increasing Quickly
Today, the increase in the Earth’s temperature is increasing with unprecedented speed. To understand just how quickly global warming is accelerating, consider this:
During the entire 20th century, the average global temperature increased by about 0.6 degrees Celsius (slightly more than 1 degree Fahrenheit).
Using computer climate models, scientists estimate that by the year 2100 the average global temperature will increase by 1.4 degrees to 5.8 degrees Celsius (approximately 2.5 degrees to 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Not All Scientists Agree
While the majority of mainstream scientists agree that global warming is a serious problem that is growing steadily worse, there are some who disagree. John Christy, a professor and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is a respected climatologist who argues that global warming isn’t worth worrying about.
Christy reached that opinion after analyzing millions of measurements from weather satellites in an effort to find a global temperature trend. He found no sign of global warming in the satellite data, and now believes that predictions of global warming by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century are incorrect.

De-carbonization efforts by China

"China will step up efforts to improve energy efficiency and preserve forests, which help remove CO2 from the atmosphere." said,President Hu Jintao .China previously said it will reduce the amount of energy used in manufacturing and will add power from nuclear reactors and solar panels that produce no CO2 emissions.
For the first time China promised to reduce greenhouse gas emission to fight global warming but in proportion to its economic growth. Obama said that rich nations must lead while fast growing nations like China and India must contribute. 190 countries are working on a climate accord that will replace 1997 Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.The US rejected then the Kyoto accord partly because China never made any commitment.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=a5aOJ8geVvPQ

Carbon-Neutral Bibles and Honda Accord

Carbon-Neutral Bibles and Accord [Honda]

Efforts to reduce carbon footprint of printed products got a big blessing from Zondervan Publishers which is about to publish a line of carbon neutral bibles.

"To achieve CarbonNeutral® publication status, the emissions produced by the printing, production, storage and distribution of the Bibles to Walmart were independently measured by a third party assessor, and reduced to net zero through carbon offsetting," the announcement said.

This new green bible series should go well with "What would Jesus drive?" movement which sees present climate change as a moral and spiritual issue. By the way[a good joke from the blog below],the moral and spiritual thing to do is to buy a fuel-efficient Japanese-brand car made in the U.S., as evidenced by Jesus' statement in John 12:49 -- "I do not speak of my own Accord." Ha Ha Ha
From
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/09/carbon-neutral-bibles-amen-to-that.html

The war of the forests....

There are many forest certifications like FSC, PEFC, SFI and LEI to name a few....But now war has broken out between ForestEthics and SFI in the USA. ForestEthics accused SFI guilty of tax fraud, inferior to FSC.......
This happening in a time where a UN report says that the forest certification movement is losing stamina.

Read more in
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-forest-certification-war.html

Zuber Rieder introduces Bagasse, a new eco-design packaging grade

After so many intimidating price increases let's look at something on the lighter side.

An eco-friendly paper made from by products of sugar cane production, linen and hemp.
"The Bagasse range is the result of an eco-design approach stretching from growing the raw material to disposal of the product. It offers an original solution in terms of sustainable development when it comes to paper and board selection.

Bagasse is produced using by products from sugar cane production, linen and hemp grown on fallow land. As Bagasse does not include the use of trees in its manufacture, it is a low-energy consumption product in terms of both production and for transformation, and is also fully recyclable. Linen and Hemp are also natural crops, which require the use of very little pesticide or weed-killer, very little fertiliser and irrigation. "

Read more in

http://news.paperindex.com/ProductLaunches_NewTechnology/Zuber_Rieder_introduces_Bagasse_a_new_eco-design_packaging_grade/

Indonesian Certification for APP?

APP awarded LEI chain of custody certification for Indonesian mills

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 8, 2009 (Press Release) - Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (LEI) today announced that a number of APP's pulp and paper mills¹ have successfully achieved Chain of Custody (CoC) certification under the LEI certification program².

"The LEI CoC certification is a wood-tracking scheme to ensure that LEI-CoC certified product is sourced from a responsibly-managed forest," said Agung Prasetyo, Executive Director of LEI. "This is an excellent initiative for APP to introduce the first LEI-certified paper worldwide, manufactured from LEI Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) certified pulpwood plantation. This signifies our efforts in further promoting Indonesian products certified under a transparent and multi-stakeholder based certification scheme."

Agung Prasetyo added that, LEI-CoC trademark has entered Japan, EU, and USA market through LEI-CoC certified wooden furniture. Today more than 1.5 million hectares of forest in Indonesia is certified under LEI program, consisting of natural production forest, plantation forest, indigenous people forest, and community-based forest.

The certification process, which covers APP's entire product range from pulp and tissue to various kinds of converted paper products, was conducted by TUV International Indonesia from April until July 2009. TUV International Indonesia is a part of German-based TUV Rheinland Group and an LEI accredited certification body. As a leading provider of environmental and social assessment worldwide, TUV operates in over 400 locations around the globe and promotes sustainable forest management.

APP's mills were accredited following a four stage certification program according to LEI's protocol. As a start, a pre-assessment process was conducted by an LEI expert panel³ from April 13th - 21st. On April 22nd, TUV International Indonesia placed a public announcement in a national newspaper to invite input from various stakeholders regarding the ongoing certification process. The main assessment was conducted at various APP production facilities in Sumatra and Java islands from May 7th -20th. All APP production facilities were declared to pass the audit during the decision-making process which was held on July 21st - 24th 2009.

"We were impressed by how hard APP staff worked. They are clearly very dedicated to ensuring all measurement and critical control points are in place for the clean production of LEIcertified products. This is not an easy task," stated Prof. Ir. T.A. Prayitno, M.For, PhD, a member of the LEI certification process expert witness panel.

Aida Greenbury, APP's Director of Sustainability & Stakeholder Engagement added, "LEI principles are designed to meet the needs and sustainability concerns of Indonesia in line with national laws and regulations. As such, we are very proud to have achieved LEI CoC certification as it demonstrates our commitment to responsible development of Indonesia's pulp and paper industry. We are constantly working to improve the sustainability of our operations."

In addition to these new LEI CoC certifications, APP's pulpwood supplier, PT Wirakarya Sakti, represents the largest LEI certified plantation in Indonesia. Currently LEI is the only SFM certification program applicable for pulpwood plantation industry in Indonesia. Prior to LEI certification, APP's mills have been certified under various international certification schemes, including Indonesian Ecolabel, European Ecolabel, Japan Ecolabel and PEFC.

On commercial plans for the sale of LEI certified paper, Ms Greenbury added, "APP is planning to market its LEI certified paper globally, starting with Asia. The Asian market is particularly aware of and welcoming to the LEI certification."

APP is planning to start production of LEI certified paper in the fourth quarter of 2009.

1 The pulp and paper mills certified are: PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk , PT Lontar Papyrus Pulp & Paper Industry , PT Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper Mills Karawang and Perawang Mills and PT Pabrik Kertas Tijwi Kimia Tbk .

2 LEI Standard 5001 and guidelines, which include LEI 88 Guideline (Chain of Custody System Certification), LEI 88-02 (General requirement for field assessor for CoC Certification), LEI 88-24 (Guideline for Decision Making Process by Expert Panel), Manual LEI 22-02 (LEI logo usage rules) and LEI Board of Trustee Decree Number 07/LEI/MPA/V/2009 (Amendment of Board of Trustee Number 01/MPA-LEI/VII/2007).

3 The expert panel consisted of Prof. Ir. T .A. Prayitno, M. For PhD - an expert on wood science technology and CoC, Dr. Ir. Sri Nugroho Marsoem, M. Agr. Sc - a pulp and paper specialist, Ir. Sugijanto Soewadi - an expert on sustainable forest management and CoC and Ir. Hasbie Hasbillah - an expert on production and environmental management for sustainable development.

The other viewpoint re reducing carbon emission

"We must be careful when dealing with Western, or Western-influenced, green campaigners. By all means listen to what they have to say. But we must take it with a pinch of salt. We should not let them impose their belief in the carbon emission theory on us, let alone make legislations that will prevent us from improving our standard of living."


Wan Saiful Wan Jan is director general of Malaysia Think Tank (www.WauBebas.org)
read his article in
http://malaysiainsider.com/index.php/opinion/wan-saiful-wan-jan/37142-dont-be-fooled-by-western-environmentalists-and-their-parrots-


Basically it is economic development versus sacrificing for the environment. Is there a workable compromise in-between, I wonder?"

Man made forest to combat global warming

A BBC report says that 100,000 artificial trees will be installed to soak up carbon emissions. This is one of the three methods deployed to reduce carbon emissions and to avoid dangerous climate change. These artificial trees capture CO2 from the atmosphere via a filter . The CO2 is captured and stored. One such tree is the size of a sea freight container and can remove thousands of times more CO2 than the equivalent sized real tree.


Read more in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8223528.stm

FSC running out of steam?

Forest Stewardship Council is facing obstacles in convincing smaller forestry owners and those of the developing countries. According to the latest UN report, the rate of growth of  global ceritfied forest has dropped dramatically during the last three years.
Find out more in  http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/08/certified-forestry-is-in-trouble-un.html

Italian papers in China

On the 18th July I attended a paper introduction seminar hosted by Cordenons paper mill in Hangzhou, a beautiful scenic city in China. The sales manager of the Italian paper mill, Philipe Virey, spoke on the products . The presence of the CEO ,Ottavio Zucca, underscored the importance of Asia especially China the awakened giant. About fifty people came from nearby Hong Kong and Taiwan, and not so near Singapore, Indonesia , Malaysia and Phillipines. But the biggest contingent in numbers is China with its many paper dealers in various cities. I met a Malaysian lady settled in Shenzhen selling fancy papers but originally from Klang. She joked and spoke in her made-in-China mandarin interspersed with her Malaysian lah English and the occasional Hokkien outbursts.She claimed to have met me before in Johore.
The other interesting episode was meeting the the owners of Star Papers in Phillipines. When I joined the paper line in the eighties this company was making headlines to me importing unbelievable tons of US fancy papers and was like the ONE fancy specialist in that Catholic majority Asian country[another point of fascination]. After almost thirty years I get to meet the father and son team and couldn't be more impressed by their humility.

The papers that were introduced were unique.
So...Silk........So...Jean........So...Wool
So...Silk is an amazing paper that feels like garment material, silk. The paper goes through a special making process that shapes the material pliable and soft and yet strong enough for offset printing and other printing processes. Actually it contains silk!.

So...Jean. yes you guessed it . The paper is made partly from cotton. It looks exactly like a jean material.
The felt marked surface texture feels and looks like jean cotton. If you print a pair of Levis on it you would probably want to wear it.

So...wool. Yep! contains a bit of wool. Its touch is rough like the Merino sheep wool and yet printed colours
on it looked great.

I might add ; they are all FSC ,a must added feature in the western countries.

The seminar was great. The new papers and the interesting people in a picturesque surrounding made it very memorable. Following are a couple of photos taken there.

Participants at Cordenons Paper Seminar

Serious lecture stuff!

The hotel we stayed at

Photo taken near hotel about six in the evening

PEFC in Argos catalog

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification [PEFC] reached a significant achievement in UK with 18 million copies of Argos carrying PEFC logo and announcing that the catalogue is printed on paper from responsibly managed forest. Argos is a prominent shopping catalogue touching 17millon households in UK.

Commenting on the award, Laurence Singer, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Home Retail Group, said “As a leading high street retailer committed to sourcing from sustainably-managed forests, Argos is proud to demonstrate its support for responsible forest management by being able to provide our customers with the assurance that the source material for our catalogues can be traced back to forests certified to a credible certification standard such as PEFC’s”.

http://news.paperindex.com/Recycling_Environment/PEFC_celebrates_Argos_endorsement-1/

We do not hear a lot of PEFC in Malaysia but just recently Malaysia has joined as a member to
this Pan European Forest Certification scheme

Global warming

Glaciers in North America are definitely melting according scientists reported in Bloomberg.

"Three glaciers in different climate zones of the U.S. Northwest have shrunk rapidly since 1989, confirming the impact of global warming on their decline, the government said in a report."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aEGcNnT1qzuw

Shrinking glaciers threaten low-lying cities and coastal areas. Salmon and trout are affected as they prefer cold , highly oxygenated waters. In Asia vanshing glaciers in the Himalayan mountains will disrupt water supplies to India and China.

Indiscriminate deforestation is a major cause of global warming. Let us support environment friendly papers like recycled, FSC,PEFC and so on.

Paper price drop

Surprise surprise!. Around the world , pulp price is on the rise steadily and yet we hear that coated paper prices in the USA is dropping farther and farther. It was so bad a few months back that some mills had started making uncoated freesheet [woodfree] on coated papermaking machines. Even RISI an authority in paper trends predicted that the 3rd quarter would see coated paper index decline to low USD900 but the lo and behold RISI July figures are officially USD770 in the US market.

This negative fall is probably a reflection on the extent of the recession in the US.

Read more in http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/08/coated-paper-prices-can-they-get-uglier.html

An end to a mystery?

On 24th May I posted on a subject " Woodfree..free of wood?". At the end of the article I asked if anyone could help solve the puzzle of local description of woodfree as simili. Someone called me the other day and offered this rather original ingenious explanation. This theory asserts that many years ago, possibly in the early 1930s when printing was becoming very popular, paper made of chemical pulp was in demand . Some "Chinaman" printers, according to this hypothesis, instead of calling woodfree started referring it as similar paper but their pronunciation was slanted and soon evolve into simili. Wow...that's an interesting treatise on the origins of the word "simili".

Many thanks to our local self-made historian Mr. Goh Kah Hong from Ipoh.

New but old

Quebecor World, amongst the largest printing companies in the world, has come out of bankruptcy under a new and yet old name"World Color Press".
A decade ago Quebecor World was born out of a merger between Quebecor Printing and World Color Press.

The new World Color Press is now owned mostly by lenders and creditors of Quebecor World.
The former CEO of the printing rival R.R.Donelley, Mark A Angelson, has been appointed to chair a revamped new board.

http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/07/quebecor-world-exits-bankrupty-with.html

Indonesian paper company detains TV reporters

Security officers of Sinar Mas apprehended French TV journalists and confiscated their videos of logging trucks at a pulp and paper firm, a subsidiary of Sinar Mas. They were later handed over to the police. On the lighter side it was reported that the police did not know what to charge them with !.

Read more in http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/?cat=55

No PEFC in Indonesia

Stringent standards in PEFC

PEFC ,an environment NGO promoting forest management sustainability has given another blow to claims of PEFC certification to Indonesian paper mills. In particular APP cannot obtain PEFC certification to its forest management practices in Indonesia.

PEFC qualification depends on two independent criteria : PEFC -certified forest and Chain Of Custody. First there are no PEFC-certified forests in Indonesia. Second, Chain of Custody certification assures that the final paper product is linked and originated from certified forest. For Indonesian paper mills to claim PEFC its pulp must be imported from PEFC- certified forest which , logically must be from outside Indonesia.

Frankly to use 100% imported pulp would kill the main advantage of Indonesian paper, price. I don't see how that can happen . So looks like eventually a forest certification system that conforms to the strict standards set up by the PEFC's International Sustainability Benchmark may be developed in Indonesia.

Well we see the positive power of environmental group in action for the environment. Personally I think that is great!.


http://news.paperindex.com/CompanySpecificNews/PEFC_Chain_of_Custody_Certification_in_Indonesia/

Forest Stewardship Council again

FSC is everywhere. Almost every other day you read mills getting FSC accreditation. Ironically the group of largest paper mills in Indonesia got kicked out of the FSC league[read 23rd may 2009 post]. It shows how independant the auditors in FSC organisation are. No wonder everyone is clamouring to be certfied FSC.

The latest news is International Paper has expanded its Chain-of-Custody to become the largest FSC manufacturing platform. The statement from IP as follows:

Chain-of-Custody certification guarantees that wood coming from certified and responsibly managed forestlands is tracked throughout the supply chain, from the forest to the consumer. With its expansion, International Paper's FSC Chain-of-Custody certification worldwide includes: three Coated Paperboard mills and its six converting facilities; four Pulp operations; six Industrial Packaging mills; seven Printing Papers mills and its sheeting operations; and a number of manufacturing facilities associated with its Foodservice and Shorewood businesses.

Besides FSC International Paper has SFI [Forest Certification Initiative] and PEFC [ Programme for Endorsement for Forest Certification] certifications . These two are basically the same as FSC generally speaking.

Read more in http://www.pulpandpaperonline.com/article.mvc/International-Paper-Establishes-Worlds-0001

Sorry

apologies!

I am presently traveling in China and since last Wednesday it was impossible to access to Google and also this blogspot which belongs to Google .This is something to do with recent crackdown on pornography by the Communist Party. Google has been banned for allowing searches to offensive links to pornography.

Today is my lucky day . I got through.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=atGvSC8TsyGs

Paper and sex

Who says there is no sex in paper business!. Not only tittilating and juicy gossips come from Hollywood you get "dirty" stuff from the wood business too.

Corrugated boxes manufactured by International Paper has a tollfree phone number printed on it. When you call in you will be greeted by "Hey there sexy guy" and will be tempted with a "one on one hot, horny girls ready to talk to you".

Ha ha.. that is hell of a way to boost paper sales. Fortunately or unfortunately[??] it was a mistake. That tollfree number owned by International Paper was phased out in 2007 and subsequently bought by an adult services organisation, but these boxes are still around, apparently.

This a case where a strong, durable corrugated paperboard box that can be reused many times is not so good!.

Read more in http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/06/phone-sex-service-gets-boost-from-lands.html

Also http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2008/12/hey-big-boy-can-i-recycle-your-boxes.html

News!

It is official!!

R.R. Donelley has confirmed given up on its bid to add Quebecor World into its printing empire.

However its spokesman added Donelley will "pursue other strategic inintiatives". What does that mean?. Read all about in

http://news.paperindex.com/Blogs_Columns/Donnelley_Takes_Its_Ball_and_Goes_Home/

Truly Recycled

créme de la créme recycled paper

I really believe this paper Cyclus is top of the range in terms of pro-environment authenticity as well as value for money. Made from 100% post- consumer and yet aesthetically appealing is no small feat. And not to mention very printable. What about those tiny dots or speckles?. Well it shows how genuine the post -consumer content is. In fact that is where the difference between a post-consumer as opposed to a pre-consumer waste lies.

Let me digress. Post-consumer waste are papers used with ink imprinted and/or foil stamped and/or uv -varnished or has incurred any type of writing or printing process or combination thereof. Think of the difficulty of removing these "impurities".Then to dispose these effluence or waste in an environmentally responsible way,. We do not have to go far. Just go to a nearby printing company and watch the ink in the surrounding drains. [I am not saying all printing cos. are like that in Malaysia but sorry to say it is the majority]. Anyway Cyclus is made in Denmark where pollution of the environment is taken seriously incurring heavy fines.

In contrast pre-consumer waste is quite straight forward. All unused papers fom the printer or convertor or off-cuts from paper mill are collected and recycled . Unprinted off-cuts or off-trims are sold for good money. Relatively easy to manage. Pre-consumer waste since it is not thrown away does not aggravate the problem of lack of landfills.

In many countries it is a norm to expect a recycled paper to contain a certain percentage of post-consumer waste and not necessarily 100%. Many text and cover paper like in the US that boast of being recycled contains no more than 30% post-consumer which is to be fair, is a respectable portion.This is so also to ensure that the paper maintains most if not all the properties of a virgin fibered paper.

Well you can't have everything. Recycled stuff is not perfect. With 100% re-used pulp the result will be less stiff, less bulk and of course, little specks scattered on the paper surface. And old pulp just cannot be brighter and whiter. So why then do we use Cyclus?. Printing on Cyclus is really about making a definite, commited stand for the environment. Let the paper mill explains :

Dalum Papir is known as one of the world's most environmentally-friendly paper manufacturers, producing fine printing paper based on a 100% recycling concept. This means that only recycled fibres are used in the production of Cyclus, and that all residual products from processing the used fibres are also recycled, e.g. as a raw material for making leached filler and as raw material for the cement industry, and as biological sludge for fertiliser. Our environmental commitment is met through the composition of our products and the production process. Producing fine paper from recycled fibres generates major savings in resources, both in terms of energy and water.


Quote from

http://www.dalumpapir.dk/953

Will the world's largest printer become bigger?

R.R .Donelley is unlikely to succeed in its quest to take over Quebec World. R.R .Donelley has offered another 200 million on top of the USD 1.3 billion but the deal may not go through. The board of Quebec World has rejected the sweetened offer and it is unlikely the creditors will accept the offer.

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/06/08/donelley-quebecor.html
http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/06/after-3-swings-at-quebecor-has.html

As of 2007 R.R. Donelley is the world's largest commercial printer, according to Wikipedia.

Perfume and paper

Durian?????

Remember those days where Chinese New Year cards received came with a smell. Good or bad fragrance depends very much on your tastes. Thirty years ago they were a hit , selling briskly. Originally from Taiwan soon Indonesia followed suit. Today with Issei Miyake , CK One, Burberry and etc. these old fashion chemically made perfumed, greeting cards are largely unpalatable to our urban sophistiscated indulgence. Guess what ?. A Canadian company has started to make and market paper with a scent. It is a paper that via a patent-pending technology that has fragrance infused into the paper during the paper making process. You can even custom make your preferred fragrance. However I wonder if "durian" paper will be allowed....in the hotels , airplanes.... hmm. Interesting. Meanwhile this paper is environment-friendly being 100% post- consumer waste.

Read more http://news.paperindex.com/ProductLaunches_NewTechnology/ScentAir_Adds_Scented_Paper_by_Cascades_to_Product_Li

Vietnam and Indonesia paper go against the trend

When most countries are contracting in this recession Vietnam has paper guys looking with envy.

Its paper production will go up by 12% while consumption by 2%, according to Vietnam Pulp And Paper Association. Thanks in part ,to tax extensions and import tax cuts.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02BUS250509

The paper demand shot up in the January to March period this year in Indonesia. Indonesia recorded a robust increase of 10.16% in 2009 first quarter as opposed to the same quarter the previous year. To some extent this rise is due to the recent general elections.

But there is more than meets the eye. In the same period the raw timber supplied to the printing and paper industry has actually declined by 16%. Greenomics a non -governmental organisation focussing on the mining and the forestry industry has asked the government to look into this anomaly.

Incidentally Indonesia is the eleventh largest paper producer and ninth largest pulp producer in the world.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/27/paper-industry-flourishes-first-quarter.html

Horror Story

Terrified in the toilet ! 


No it is not the snatch thief,  kidnappers  nor  hidden cameras. Scary stories are told on the toilet tissue and you get the best. In Japan a new type of  toilet paper is sold with a nine-chapter scary story printed on it. The story  "Drop" is written by  Koji Suzuki , the author of the Hollywood film "Ring".
The company sells the toilet paper  for  210 yen , promises a horrifying experience in the toilet.

Read more here  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1oHiEOixjD6ti_Pr8v56PxU1sbwD98CHSJ03

Definition

WOODFREE .......FREE OF WOOD??

To many people that I have come across in and out of printing and graphic industry this word is a puzzle and misnomer. Holding a piece of photocopy paper while scratching their heads , asking themselves can this be really free of wood?

To understand fully we need to back track on how it is made. Paper is made from pulp which is extracted from wood .Wood by itself is natural contains ingredients from mother nature that enable it to mature from a tiny seedling to a full grown tree ready for harvest for paper or furniture. One of these ingredients is lignin. Lignin is the glue that binds all the celullose fibres together in the tree. This adhesive in particular turns yellowish when exposed to light. Remember the other day you left your Star in the back of your car baking in the 36 degree celsius ; you came back to a golden yellow newspaper.

Woodfree on the other hand does not change color in the light. This because it is made from pulp that is free or mostly free of lignin. A lignin free pulp is a result of a chemical pulp making process which uses chemicals [the chips are 'cooked' by heat and pressure in caustic soda and sulphur] to clean the impurities especially lignin. So woodfree is made of chemical pulp.

At the opposite end there are others who want or at least do not mind lignin in the paper like newsprint (for newspaper).A lignin containing pulp is pulp made from a mechanical process. This process is just crushing the wood physically to remove the impurities but much lignin remains. So newsprint and mechanical paper are from mechanical pulp.

Back to square one,why call it woodfree and not lignin free or mechanical pulp free?. A likely explaination is that the word "woodfree" is a shortened version of groundwood free, a mouthful. Groundwood is mechanical pulp.[logs can be pressed against grindstones which is why this process is also known as ground wood pulp]

But terminology is cultural. In the USA woodfree is always called free sheet. In some countries woodfree is called fine paper but some of the bargain woodfree papers that get imported into Malaysia is anything but fine! . And then oddly, in our local market for some unknown reason woodfree is called "simili" paper. Somebody enlighten me, please.

APP denies  logging plans in conservation areas

APB [Associated paper and board] , one of the largest integrated pulp and paper company in the world has been accused of  planning to log in a protected region, Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Indonesia. 

For those of us in Malaysia unfamiliar with the name APP, popular mill brands like  Pindo Deli, Tjiwi Kimia  and  IKPP  will ring familiar bells.These relatively more well-known names are amongst the six mills owned by APP in Indonesia.  

WWF says APB  jointly with Sinar Mas Group have been given license to clear a large area of natural forest in a protected territory, home to indigenous tribes and a protected natural habitat to orangutans. An APP spokesman denies such allegations saying that the accusation is totally unfounded.

This is not the first time they have been criticized by environmental groups. In 2007 APP was kicked out of FSC for destroying tropical trees in a high value conservation area in the island of Sumatra. In June 2008 WWF raised concern over their logging operations. However in September 2008 four APP mills in Indonesia received PEFC* Chain-of-custody certification.

*The PEFC Council (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)

For more go to  http://www.printweek.com/RSS/News/907940/APP-refutes-illegal-logging-allegations/

Key coral reef vanishing!

Although this piece of news is not directly linked with the paper and printing industry it certainly will propel us to use more environment-friendly papers. As temporary residents in this planet we want to leave behind a green earth for our children and grand children.

The coral region, the coral triangle, between Indonesia and five other S.E.A. countries containing 75% of the world's coral are in danger of disappearing. Man's tampering with the ecological system namely pollution , greenhouse emission,uncontrolled exploitation of the coast and fishing will deplete marine life. As a result by the end of this century millions of people will be unable to harvest any fish from this part of the sea.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8047138.stm

Many of our friends and customers will be displaying their paper products. Luxurious packaging in all shapes and made with the state- of -the art material will be exhibited. Many innovative and creative greeting cards printed with the latest technology will amaze you. See you there.

R.R. Donnelley stunned the printing and publishing industries 
 
On May 13, 2009  R.R.Donelley one of the largest printers in the world shows interest to buy into another big printer, Quebecor World. R.R.Donelley, Quebecor World and Quad/Graphics are the three largest in the U.S.A.


The big three took care of all the big, long run catalog and magazine printing in the US.The tens of thousands of smaller offset printers simply cannot 
compete with these three. Now three is about to become two. Will R.R.Donelley pass the anti-trust laws?.


Read more in http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/05/rr-donnelley-stalks-quebecor-world.html

FSC

In January 2009 one million invitations and envelopes were printed on FSC paper for President elect Obama's inauguration.
FSC or forest stewardship council is and has been in the rage for the last few years. Recently I was asked again what it stands for. So I thought maybe I make myself useful and try to explain it here. In simple layman terms it is someone or some company outside your organisation [if you make paper] checking on everything related to how the paper is made including the forest, the transport, the process of pulp-making, paper making, the chemicals, the fillers, etc. Then the merchant that stocks the paper has to be audited and so is the printer because they are part of the chain. Both merchant and printer need to be FSC certified.

What are the factors for this check?. Basically we need to show that we are responsible to the forest.
In the past the focus was on recycling and particularly, reusing post-consumer waste. Today recycling I think, is still very important as sooner or later we will all run out of landfills. In fact using more recycled paper lessen the cutting of trees. However FSC instead of looking at the pulp content shifts the emphasis to the whole process . FSC is about controlling forest management in the production of wood. It is talking about the use of alternative fibers, chemical treatment and resulting effluence or waste. FSC is for responsible choice for the environment. It is against illegal and unsustainable logging activities.

The FSC possesses very noble intentions. The FSC system aims to eliminate habitat destruction, water pollution, displacement of indigenous people, violence against people and wildlife that often accompanies logging.
Forest Stewardship Council certification is an important way to improve the practice of forestry.

If you want to read more go to http://www.fscus.org/

Design Line Opens a Retail Shop

DESIGN LINE PUDU SHOP OFFICIALLY OPENS

17/4/09

What a gala time ! It was a very big turnout beyond our expectations. So many friends , old and new acquaintances. And nice to make so many new friends in the printing industry. I believe the atmosphere was lively and everyone enjoyed the food and drinks .We had to use up the standby food but the beer was overly popular ...must be the extremely hot day!. Extreme temperature......um.......that reminds me of global warming.
We did our tiny bit for the environment. Everyone who wanted to send congratulatory flowers were encouraged to donate that money to Malaysian Nature Society. And the response was staggering meaning that people do care for the environment. Thank you. The flowers too were just great creating an ambiance of celebration and festivity. Thank you.

P.S. Thanks to all our colleagues who doubled up as "bouncers" against the never ending stream of gate  crashers.   Kudos to our multi-talented comrades.

A Good Cause

                                NOBLE INTENTIONS TO SUPPORT MOTHER EARTH

                                Many companies, individuals and friends expressed their love
                       for the environment by donating money to Malaysian Nature Society
                                                   Truly an inspirational moment.  

[From left] Mr. Wong, Ms Evelyn and Mr.Leong

[Back left]Mr. Leong, our Pudu Retail Manager sharing a good laugh with colleagues.    [Clockwise] Ms. Yoong, Ms. Joyce,Ms. June,Mr. Adrik and Ms. Evelyn
Adrik in a sworn statement,
denies that he was sleeping on the job. Instead he was overjoyed at work![Chinese saying,"see teeth but no see eyes"].

Thanks for your support!

Ms Fallon, our colleague [back facing us] talking with Mr. M.C. Wong of Yamagata [M] Sdn. Bhd. [facing us] and Mr. Ng













The writer [from right] with Mr. Jeffrey of Bakti Tulin Sdn. Bhd., Mr. Johning of Chiat Marketing Sdn. Bhd. and three lovely ladies from Bakti Tulin.

pose

Mr.Jeffrey of Sunflower. An uncontested winner of the best pose of the day!.


Just behind Mr, Jimmy Tan of Actan and talking to Mr. Ang of Ang Trading.

Another great shot of Mr. Kok of Percetakan Jiwabaru,,,possibly another winner of the best pose award!

Design Line in Pudu

Mr Tony Lim [ Deputy Director of Marketing] of Winpac gives a fortune away to MNS..
Mr.Lim of Salam Greeting is working for MNS on a part-time basis?.









[From left] Mr.Lim smiling [presumably prior to  his heavy duty part-time job] ,  followed by Mr. Wong of Memory Lane and Mr. Alex Teng of ATI Marketing

At the front table[ from left], Mr. Ho of Artmax, Mr. Wong of Memory Lane, Mr.Terry Gan  and Mr. Richard of Artmax having  an  interesting chat, apparently.
At the rear table [from left], Mr. S.M. Lee of Unique Print, the writer and Mr. Ee Chong Hoe of Trendy Print.

                                                         The man with a presence.
 Mr.Goh of Saftax , all the way from Ipoh with  his many friends. Thank you Goh, Keong, Kok   and Ah Mun.