Top 30 Book Manufacturers
How has the price and demand for paper affected the market?
Clarke: Paper always has an impact [on the market], but I didn’t see anything unusual last year that would have radically changed our position. I think that—as is what’s going on in the print, publishing and paper [industries]—there’s a consolidation going on, and options diminish. We’ve been aggressive in creating very unique supply chain solutions for our publishers with some paper manufacturers where we try to standardize paper and allow for several mills or different papers that everyone can choose from.
That accomplishes several things. It improves the asset base in the publishing community because they don’t have paper on their balance sheets until they use it. The standardization of the papers allows that we have paper and can go to press. And, the consistency of paper is good for manufacturing. The paper [companies] also now aren’t breaking in and out of their production. So it’s been a very successful program, and it’s accelerating again because it serves all of those parties well.
Matt Steinmetz is the publisher and brand director of Publishing Executive.