The stability of the paper supply chain will likely be tested during the first part of this year. The reasons for this include a decrease in the demand for uncoated paper at the tail end of 2024, along with the potential for economic tariffs on paper manufactured outside the U.S. and shipped to the states. If implemented, it’s a virtual certainty that these tariffs will challenge the paper supply chain — at least in the short-term — and result in increased prices.
This kind of volatility is problematic for brands that lean on print for their sales and marketing initiatives, but the good news is that print automation can help companies leverage the kind of print flexibility and speed that can overcome supply challenges. Let’s take a quick look at the role I believe print automation can play in faster, more flexible print.
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Sustainability in print means something drastically different today than it did just a few years ago. What this difference looks like is exactly what Quantum Group’s Supply Chain Manager Paul Fillmore found himself wrestling with in the latest issue of LeadingPRINT.
It’s been an interesting first quarter here at Quantum-so interesting in fact that we had to table our First Quarter outlook to get some customers taken care of. The phones haven’t stopped ringing, the email alerts ping away, and print demand is back. That leaves us with the following question: what about the paper?
Quantum's 2021 Second Quarter Paper & Trend Analysis - Cautiously Optimistic
Spring brings rapid change, and this quarter’s Q2 Outlook is no stranger to it. We will summarize the variety of challenges facing procurement in the print marketplace (surprise hint: it’s just not paper!). Also in this month’s report: Big wins for Quantum and myself personally as we earned 13 Great Lakes Graphics Association - Graphics Excellence Awards (GEA) contest, including multiple Best of Category and Division awards.
Pop the cork, it is finally 2021! It is time for our Q1 Paper and Trend Analysis. This month we will be looking at forecast revisions in the wake of the vaccine rollout and what that may mean for buyers and their supply chains. The increases we discussed in Q4 will materialize as the mills start to make pricing moves. We will look at what some intelligent folks are saying about B2B and the new role of digital. Finally, as always, I will bring you up to date on sustainability.
