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Combining silky smoothness, a fabulous
print finish and great fingertip appeal,
UPM Impresse Plus C is a new paper for
high-end coldset web offset applications.
We take a peek behind the scenes of its
ongoing customer-driven development
process.
A brilliant sample of talent-pooling at Jämsä River Mills:
(from right) SC expert Kimmo Finnilä joined forces with
newsprint specialist Mikko Aho, Product Manager Olli
Juntunen and Veli-Pekka Laurila to test SC papers in
CSWO printing in summer 2015.
Where does this product fit into the
UPM product range
?
n
UPM Impresse Plus C will enlarge UPM’s offering
for our coldset customer base. We will be able to offer
outstanding print quality with high smoothness, a nice
feel and a magazine-style appearance to support our cus-
tomers’ print competitiveness. The product has a high
bulk (1.1) and brightness level of 80.
What are your expectations for this product?
We will meet future customer needs by improving the
competitiveness of coldset printing. UPM Impresse Plus
C will enable our customers to expand their product of-
fering especially in the commercial printing of contrac-
tual titles, inserts and value-adding advertising materi-
al. On top of this, we offer a competitive advantage to
our coldset customers in segments such as special week-
end publications and magazine-type products. This will
push coldset printing towards higher added-value print-
ing products.
What’s the next step?
In the final pre-launch stage, we will work closely with
printers with different kinds of printing machines to fine-
tune the product’s printability and gain enough experi-
ence for the commercial launch in the coming months.
he original idea for Impresse
Plus C came from UPM’s tech-
nical sales teams, who work
closely with customers around Europe
and pass on their suggestions to mills.
They proposed that UPM should test
the suitability of its current SC papers
for coldset printing.
“We listen carefully to what our cus-
tomers require, and we’re always ready
to evaluate all their good ideas here at
the mill to match their needs tomor-
row,” says
Olli Juntunen
, Product
Manager at UPM Jämsä River Mills,
where the project began in summer
2015.
“After the initial trials we noticed that
our SC paper was giving surprisingly
good printing results in coldset applica-
tions, too. There were some runnability
issues, however, and some initial com-
patibility issues with inks. Too much
ink was building up on the common im-
pression cylinder,” reveals Juntunen.
The beauty of trial and error
Using trial and error as the driving
force of creativity, the UPM develop-
ment team kicked off the R&D process
in earnest at the end of 2015.
The new paper underwent laborato-
ry tests at the UPM R&D centre to an-
alyse the impact of various technical
modifications. The product was simul-
taneously tested by selected customers,
who gave immediate feedback.
“The biggest challenge was mak-
ing the structure of the paper ‘open’
enough for coldset printing,” adds
Kimmo Finnilä
, Engineer, Develop-
ment and Technical Customer Service
at PM6, which produces the paper.
Smoothness and shine
As often happens in R&D, the project
met with its fair share of challenges.
“At one stage we almost lost the wow
factor – the print finish wasn’t look-
ing great anymore. But thanks to our
precise and systematic modifications,
we were able to return the smoothness
and shine,” says Finnilä.
UPM Impresse Plus C offers a
smooth, luxuriant finish that helps
CSWO printed publications truly
stand out. This makes it ideal for high-
end applications such as retail adver-
tisements, special interest newspapers
and magazines. It is not necessari-
ly the easiest product to print, how
ever, as it requires extensive knowl-
edge from the printer and optimiza-
tion on press. But, when the balance is
right, the end result is well worth the
extra effort.
“I think this paper looks brilliant.
We have a great product that truly
catches the reader’s eye. Next it’s up
to our sales team and CSWO printers
to make this innovation a success,”
concludes Juntunen.
T
birth of an eye-catcher
The
Impresse Plus C
story:
Text:
Terhi Jokinen
Photo:
Pekka Rötkönen
UPM
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