Dec. 18, 2002--In response to strong demand from North American commercial printers, Eastern Paper today said it has expanded its offerings of new uncoated, untreated papers used in HP Indigo digital presses. The papermaker also said it plans a third extension of the new gradeline next month. New lightweight and heavyweight text papers have been added to the lineup of Eastern Paper's "inspire" for HP Indigo presses. New cover weights will be available to printers in January 2003. Expansion of the archival paper line will sharply increase the number and types of digital print jobs for which the paper can be used, according to printers who have tested "inspire." Applications include book publishing, direct mail and variable data printing. With the new untreated sheet, printers say they have new, attractively priced paper options for their digital print jobs, eliminating the need for special treatment on uncoated papers. Eastern Paper launched "inspire" last month. One company to realize the competitive advantage of an untreated digital printing paper is LaVigne, Inc., a mid-size commercial printer in Worcester, Mass. "I commend Eastern Paper for recognizing this important issue and coming up with a superb solution," said LaVigne CEO Chris Wells. The development of "inspire" is particularly significant because it requires no special treatments and costs about as much per sheet as traditional color copy laser paper. "That's a big discount over the price of other digital papers," Wells said. Press room chief Len Caromano of Citation Graphics in Moorestown, New Jersey, said that "inspire" has enabled him to expand his capabilities to employ automatic duplex mode printing on his HP Indigo presses with a lower weight paper. Inspire allows him to save money by running 80-lb. sheets, expanding applications and per-job profits. Caromano says the paper's body and bulk give it strength on press at a lower cost than heavier sheets. The paper accepts ink readily, which provides improved performance from the printing "blanket" and reduces the frequency of replacement, increasing productive up-time. The paper's archival quality also means it has a minimum of a one-year shelf-life. "Anytime you can avoid headaches, from paper buying and storage to printing the final product, print jobs are more profitable," said Caromano. "Inspire delivers very high print and paper quality and it's much easier for our press operators to use. And since it's priced below competing digital sheets, we will gain significant business advantages." Amherst, Mass.-based Eastern Paper developed "inspire" specifically for HP Indigo commercial sheet-fed presses. The untreated, uncoated paper has been certified by the Rochester Institute of Technology and has been extensively tested by HP and selected commercial printers. The 94-brightness papers with 30% recycled content are now available in 60-, 70-, 80- and 100-pound text weights that can generate an extra cost-saving yield advantage of up to 20% over competing grades. "Inspire" is one of the few digital printing papers on the market today with recycled content. Eastern Paper is a fully integrated pulp and paper manufacturer that produces a wide variety of recycled papers for digital color and monochrome laser printers. Its other products include eColor, eCover, Docupaque, eWriting and Certificate Laser. The company has two manufacturing facilities in Lincoln, Maine, and Brewer, Maine. The papers are available through a network of North American printing paper distributors. For more information, contact a printing paper merchant or visit the Eastern Paper web site at www.easternpaper.com.