"Asia and South America are growing faster than in other parts of the world, but you do need partnerships in each of those regions both for the distribution into the channel, but also to manage the regional differences, whether it be culture or buying behavior," explained SMART Papers Executive Vice President Paul Simpson in an interview with PrintWeek.

He added that while SMART Papers does have a European partner, Ital Paper, "We don't have a partner in either Asia or South America but because of the growth rate in those markets it's a big goal of ours going forward."

SMART Papers is North America's largest manufacturer and marketer of environmentally responsible, premium cast-coated and matte-coated papers and last week expanded its premium Kromekote brand to label printers and converters across North America and Europe.

"Labeling had been one of the bright spots for commercial printers but also for the paper industry," Simpson explained. "The last number I saw was that label sales were up 3-4% this year which is trending above GDP - and I saw one three-year forecast that had growth at 11-12%  over that time."

The Kromekote Cut and Stack label line now features nine products, including papers guaranteed for digital presses. "The best feature about it is the flat surface as well as the chemistry as the coating has to been formulated to work in digital devices," Simpson said. "It's qualified and certified for digital like Indigo but also for the laser side, whether that Kodak, or Xerox or Canon."

Simpson noted the rising cost of paper is impacting their business, adding, "It's been tough to manage the cost of raw materials, most notably the chief expense, fiber or pulp. There are also secondary expenses such as chemicals and those have also increased and we realize the printer can't pass those on because the end user doesn't want to accept those higher costs either."

SMART Papers is also keeping a close eye on the consolidation taking place in the US commercial printing industry, and Simpson suggested that could end up triggering additional opportunities for the paper provider even with fewer individual printers.

"Consolidation in some ways will actually improve the future for the commercial printing industry, because those that remain will end up being healthy," he said. "And not only healthy but they'll become more technically proficient as well - they will have a better process, a better procedure and they'll end up more focused on their market. The remaining printers might cover a wider geographic area and in many case they may have international expansion look to partners like us to help that growth."