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Silk papers may be all the rage these days, but that doesn’t mean gloss art paper has been pushed to the sidelines. Far from it, in fact; gloss art continues to appeal to a number of markets, including brochures, magazines, direct mail and promotional work – markets where high-quality reproduction can make all the difference.

"With the market split at roughly 70% silk to 30% gloss, silk papers are now very much in the ascendency," claims Matt Ingram, category manager for coated papers at Robert Horne. "This is, however, dictated by fashion and specifier choice as opposed, necessarily, to on-press performance. One of the key advantages of gloss art paper over silk paper is its faster drying time."

One specifier that isn’t likely to abandon gloss art paper any time soon is the high-end magazine publisher. Denmaur Independent Papers marketing director Peter Sommerville says publishers continue to recognise the value of having high-quality glossy adverts in their publications.

"It’s an interesting dynamic," suggests Sommerville. "The guys who sell adverts like the glossy paper, while those on the editorial side prefer the more readable silk paper. It only serves to demonstrate what really drives the market – not grammage or ease-of-use, but how the publisher wants the product to look."  

Appearance matters
While the look of the finished product is crucial, the origin of the paper matters to publishers as well. In line with the rest of the paper industry, print buyers continue to demand gloss art papers with ever more green credentials. Over the past few years the percentage of recycled material used in some products has increased from 15% and 25% to 50% and above, with little impact on quality.

"Not long ago only the small mills were producing high-grade recycled stocks," says Sommerville. "Today, most of the big mills are doing it as well. While most printers would claim virgin-based papers are still marginally easier to run on press, there is much less difference from even just five years ago," he adds.

Whether it’s environmentally friendly or not, as long as the need for bright, smooth and detailed print reproduction remains, there will always be demand for gloss art papers.

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WHAT'S NEW IN... GLOSS ART PAPERS
• Denmaur Independent Papers launched the Amadeus Recycled range in August. Manufactured by Burgo, Amadeus Gloss is available in a number of recycled percentages from 25% up to 100%
• In July, Tullis Russell’s Trucard 1 gloss recycled 350gsm was chosen for the outer packaging of Lancôme’s Aroma Blue body treatment fragrance. The paper maker says Lancôme, which is the main brand in the luxury products division of L’Oréal, values the fact that the Trucard range was FSC certified
• The National Association of Paper Merchants made sustainability a key target at its annual forum in October. The forum looked at the decline in paper consumption and discussed where the market would be in five years’ time
• Arjowiggins Graphic says it has encountered a 140% rise in demand for recycled paper in the last two years. Cocoon Gloss is now available in 100% recycled FSC certified pulp