Why you should switch from woodfree paper 

What happens when you switch from a woodfree paper to Holmen BOOK?  

This video will show you. In our Holmen BOOK case study, we used a real book, 468 pages, that was printed on 115 gsm woodfree paper. The insert weighs 1 098 grams. If it had been printed on a Holmen BOOK paper, it could have weighed 668 grams. 

Think about the weight of the book, just above one kilo, when holding it in your hand. Then take 40 percent of the weight off - imagine the difference. A lighter book is both more comfortable to read and easier to carry. 

The big picture 

Switching from woodfree paper to Holmen BOOK gives you several advantages: 

  • Because your using lightweight book paper, you buy 40% less paper 
  • Transporting 40% less weight 
  • Reducing carbon emissions by 85% 

Transforming the book industry 

There are many advantages to reading a printed book, and many people prefer it. But the whole industry has been looking for a way to reduce climate impact, and in the early 2000’s many thought that going digital was the way to do it. Now the world has started to realize that digital publishing has an extensive environmental impact. 

The paper industry offers an important contribution to reducing climate impact. At Holmen, we began to produce Holmen BOOK in 2002. Since then it has become a leader in sustainable book printing. It’s a product family with an extremely low carbon footprint. When you use a Holmen paper for your production, you will lower the carbon footprint of your books dramatically compared to using a woodfree paper.  

Holmen BOOK is a fresh fibre based, mechanical book paper produced at Braviken and Hallsta paper mills in Sweden. It has become a market favourite over the last 20 years, thanks to the even product quality and wide range of shades and surfaces. 

Compare the benefits 

Papers can be compared on so many different levels. A paper’s weight per square metre doesn’t say anything about the thickness, opacity, or reading comfort of a page. We can show you the alternatives and help you to go lighter. 

Holmen BOOKS offers more paper for less money while lowering your carbon emissions. This means that you can print more books, but there are more benefits: 

  • Switching from woodfree paper means you can buy less paper. What will that mean for your supply chain? 
  • If you stop using woodfree paper you can lower the weight of your transports, which in turn can reduce emissions.  
  • Switching to Holmen BOOK vs woodfree paper reduces your overall carbon footprint.  

Let’s look at the data together 

If you get in touch with us, we can show you the data behind the comparison. We can also share printed samples of our book papers, so that you can compare the print quality, readability, and general impression of the different grammages. And you can see and feel the books in this example and compare for yourself.