OREANDA-NEWS Russian printing houses complain about the lack of a high-quality alternative to European coated paper. This is reported by Kommersant with reference to sources in the market.

Coated paper is used for the production of printed products where bright colors are important, for example, for glossy magazines and expensive books. However, due to the decline in the quality of domestic paper, publishers began to reduce and cancel orders. According to Pavel Arsenyev, CEO of Pareto-Print printing house, there is no analogue of European products in Russia.

In May, the former production director of Pareto-Print, Alexey Oborin, stated that it was impossible to purchase paper with a density of 90 and 105 grams per square meter, which was previously supplied from abroad. Later, problems arose with the purchase of raw materials with a density of 115 grams per square meter, and the company had to look for alternatives

At the beginning of March 2022, one of the main suppliers of cellulose bleaching chemicals, the Finnish chemical company Kemira, stopped exporting to the country. Later, a number of coated paper suppliers, including Stora Enso, UPM, Sappi and Arctic Paper, announced their withdrawal from Russia or suspension of their activities.