Volume 1, Number 4
Oct 1988

Letters

To the Editor:

Having just read your March 1988 Alkaline Paper Advocate, I would like to correct some statements which were misleading in the article an page 7. Since API has final data of paper production in 1987, I will share it with you.

In 1987, 11 million tons of uncoated free sheet were produced by U.S. paper companies. Uncoated free sheet papers have a variety of end-uses, one being book publishing. Five percent of uncoated free sheet papers were used in book publishing as revealed in API data tracking annual shipments of printing-writing papers to book publishers. Your article indicated that 9% of uncoated free sheet went to book publishing.

Of the 20.8 million tons of uncoated free sheet, coated printing paper, uncoated groundwood, thin, cotton fiber and bleached bristol paper shipments in 1987, .95 million tons or 4.5% went to the book publishing end-use. Of the 37 million tons of total paper produced (including tissue, newsprint and packaging and industrial) in 1987, 2.5% would be used for book publishing.

For reporting purposes, API defines the book publishing end-use as shipments to all publishers of hard and soft bound books, trade and general books, textbooks, university presses, trade associations, and other miscellaneous book publishers.

It is important to have these facts when discussing the need for alkaline papers. With the number of U.S. paper companies producing alkaline papers, there is a sufficient supply of this paper to meet the needs of today.