PAPER PRICING: Pulp Nonfiction

Paper prices are affected by the market for the two types of paper used in publishing: groundwood (or mechanical) and freesheet. Both of these paper types are manufactured in coated and uncoated form, with coated papers traditionally used in glossy publications, such as coffee table books and magazines, and uncoated in most other books. Freesheet paper contains no more than 10 percent wood pulp and is whiter, brighter and longer-lasting than groundwood, which contains more wood pulp and lignin (the chemical in wood that makes paper yellow over time).