Sustainability has to be one of the first quality aspects to have in mind when choosing paper for direct marketing and catalogues. Paper is a renewable material with a great recycling rate. Holmen's papers are all made from fresh fibres in a thermomechanical pulping process. Our forest management also has chain-of-custody certification, which means that all the wood can be traced back to its origin in sustainably managed Swedish forests.
How to buy paper for catalogues and direct marketing
Catalogues and direct mail send-outs have to earn their attention. Be it inspirational, informative, evocative or sales-driving - your choice of paper is still fundamental. Here's how to buy paper for your big volume printed materials.
Paper for catalogues and product overviews
When you go high-end, the paper choice cannot be overestimated. A comprehensive product range overview or catalogue sets out to fulfil your mission, to carry the representation of the product to where the buyer is. Tactility is one of the most important tools available to achieve this. Coated papers with a glossy or matte finish are common choices, but just like in the magazine segment, uncoated papers have started to gain interest, and rightfully so. Innovative and bold choices attract the eye. A natural feeling works to your advantage. A matte surface makes it possible to stand out and to use embossing, partial lacquer coating or UV coating to their full effect.
Holmen's uncoated fresh-fibre papers are rich and thick. Their bulky properties enable a comfortable thickness of the page, even though the paper is very lightweight. This lets you create a stable and luxurious high quality feeling with lower grammage, instead of using a heavy traditional paper.
Evoke the right emotions with vivid, tactile and memorable product presentations. We'll make it easy for you to find the right catalogue paper from our selection of lightweight and medium weight papers.
Using a lightweight paper with great printing properties can be the defining factor that catches your customer's attention. The uncoated surface makes it comfortable to read, it's pleasant to the touch so you don't want to put it down, and it's lightweight and easy to carry, all the way home.
If you would like to make your paper choices within the Holmen family, you should go for one of our paperboard products on the cover and Holmen EPIC, Holmen VIEW or Holmen TRND for the insert. For catalogue productions with many pages, our super-calendered, light-weight paper Holmen UNIQ is very appreciated.
Paper for direct marketing and weekly offers
Direct mail to be sent out in large volumes, like weekly offers or product range overviews, also has to attract and inspire the readers. But because of the large circulation, distribution will make up a very large part of the cost. And no company can go about their business without thinking about the environment. We all need to make sustainable communication choices. This is why different kinds of lightweight paper are widely used for direct marketing.
A leading choice for large volume printed matters would be a high bulk SC-paper, such as the market pioneer Holmen UNIQ. A paper with a smooth, glossy surface on both sides of the sheet, available in grammages from 37 gsm to 50 gsm to cover all of your needs and applications.
Holmen XLNT is another highly competitive paper that can help you control production and distribution costs. In the machine finished paper segment (MF-paper), we also offer Holmen PLUS, with properties that stand up well to many more expensive products. One very popular application where Holmen PLUS is outstanding, is for crossword and word puzzle inserts.
Make it sustainable
How to make a sustainable choice
Sustainability is often defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It is described from three main pillar aspects: social, environmental, and economical, referred to as 'people, planet, profit'. To read more about Holmen's work regarding these three aspects, please visit our Sustainability pages.
When you buy fresh fibre paper, make sure it is sourced from sustainably managed forests with care for regrowth and biodiversity. For recycled paper, remember that the product has one or more previous lives that needs to be taken into account when it comes to production, transports and waste.
For both recycled and fresh fibre paper, try to look more closely into how much energy that is consumed in the production process, and from where this energy comes. Look at what happens to waste and wastewater, find out which chemicals that are used and with what impact. Having sustainable processes makes the whole difference.
To minimize our impact on the environment, we have to take a circular approach to process, reprocess and restore. And this has to be managed in an economical way, with concern for biodiversity in the short and long term.
It may seem difficult, but there are tools
To compare papers from different paper suppliers, or see how much lower the footprint will be with paper in a lower basis weight, you can use Carbon footprints and Paper profiles. Our Carbon footprint document does exactly as the name says, it states both the carbon sequestration in the forests and the emissions associated with the production, transportation and usage. The Paper profile is a product declaration that simplifies comparing different paper suppliers because they show the same properties, measured in the same way.
Find them and other environmental certifications in our Download center.
Calculator
Calculate the savings
With Holmen's papers, it's often possible to choose a lower grammage paper than you are used to. Our Bulky Math Calculator shows you how this would lower your cost.
Roll or sheet printing
Paper is most often delivered in reels. Paper for catalogues or large circulation direct mail is delivered to the printing house in reels with a width between 0.8-3.8 meters.
The web printing press can print, fold, and handle large print editions from paper reels in a fast and efficient process which reduces overhead cost and production time. Our customer care team makes sure that the paper reels are delivered in the right time and place for your production slot.
When you buy paper from us, our experienced technical support staff will assist you through the set up and initial printing process, to get you off to a good start.
Paper sheets for catalogues or direct mail
Sheet-feed printing is a common printing method for smaller circulation catalogues or complicated productions with many different paper grades in the insert. There are a number of standard sheet sizes available depending on your market.
Holmen cooperates with paper converters and wholesale specialists to provide paper in sheets for your needs. Your local sales contact can help you find the best solutions available in your part of the world.
Direct marketing research and effects
There are many examples of how printed materials show better effects than digital communication. Here is inspiration from the world of printed catalogues and direct mail.