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1. Pulp Non-Fiction. CAP Ventures research has initiated a new study, "The Future of Paper." Designed as a 20-year forecast of key paper grades and applications, the initial findings show that total annual U.S. paper volume grew to 6.9 trillion pages in 2000 from 4.0 trillion pages in 1980. However, the annual growth rate of printing and writing papers decreased from 4% in the 80s to only 2% in the 90s. The annual growth rate of newsprint has fallen to less than 1%. Within the overall market, some segments experienced double-digit growth while other segments declined. "Understanding the underlying technology trends and customer behavior is essential for making strategic decisions on corporate assets, product development, distribution, and brand management," says CAP Ventures’ Jeffrey Hayes. The full report is expected in early 2003. 2. Old Drives Do Die. I just returned from a week’s vacation to the news that our server had crashed a hard drive. We have "mirrored hard drives" for back-up, and one of them failed. When this happened once before, we just replaced the hard drive and went on our way. But now, the old drives are no longer available, and the new ones probably wouldn’t work on our existing equipment. Add in the charge for the time it would have taken our IT guys to put it back in service and I’d be out 20% to 80% of the cost of a new server. Sooooo, I sprang for the new server. Just a reminder that, despite our focus on cost controls, we all need to keep some capital socked away for such emergencies. 3. USPS Worries Mailers. The Mailers Council, the nation’s largest coalition of mailers and mailing associations, recently lobbied the U.S. Senate to pass S-2754, a bill that calls for a presidential commission to evaluate the financially ailing United States Postal Service. S-2754 calls for creation of an 11-member oversight committee because of rapidly rising postage rates and deficits. The Postal Service reported a loss of $1.7 billion in 2001, will record a deficit of at least $1.5 billion this fiscal year, and predicts a $1 billion loss for 2003. 4. The Same Old Song. The latest survey by TrendWatch Graphic Arts finds a healthy optimism among publishing executives as they assess the near future. Though 70% view economic conditions as their "top business challenge," the level of concern seems to have eased a bit. Last year 83% reported "economic conditions" as their top business challenge. Hopefully, their optimism plays out. 5. Tip of the Week: Although folding may seem uncomplicated, certain subtle variables are often overlooked. Prior to folding, scoring ensures a better fold. Coated papers, in particular, require scoring to prevent cracking. It’s also important to fold many sheet stocks soon after scoring, since many types of paper retain a structural "memory." If days elapse between scoring and folding, for example, the paper could have shrunk back to its original form and cracking could result. |
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