Pressure on the Paper Liner Industry

Almost 100% of the liner used in print and apply or print on demand equipment is made from paper.

On September 20, 2022, Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC announced the upcoming mill closure. The Pixelle mill in Jay, Maine, supplies about 20% to 30% of the release liner paper consumed by North American label manufacturers. In a manufacturing process, losing up to 30% of the available supply of any raw material is problematic.

January 1, 2022 the UPM Biofore paper mill in Finland went on strike causing more disruption in the ever precarious liner paper supply chain.

Label Manufacturers are being challenged to get the right material for the job. Supply chain issues and price increases are putting constraints on the label world.

What happens when a paper mill closes? Tons of paper liner is removed from the industry. The remaining mills are not quick to change over to produce silicone liner paper. If a mill is currently making money producing different paper what is the incentive to switch over? It is not an easy conversion process and is time consuming. If supply goes down and demand goes up price goes up!

Why worry about the constraints? Eliminating the liner for your print and apply machine eases one of the growing challenges in today’s market. Linerless labeling will give you many benefits.