A few mills have carried their campaigns beyond the field of direct advertising, which includes the mailing of samples and printed circulars, and the dissemination of printed samples in trade journals, such as The Printing Art Suggestion Book, The Pacific Printer & Publisher, or the direct mailing of folders or specimen books.
They also take advertising space in the Printing Art, Inland Printer, The American Printer and other printing trade journals. Outside of these has come the use of such class magazines as System, Printers’ Ink and Advertising & Selling, and some have even extended their appropriations to include national magazines, notably The Saturday Evening Post. In one campaign a Chicago newspaper was among the media selected; but the use of newspapers for paper publicity is practically nil.
General Magazine advertising of paper has been principally devoted to writing paper. This is natural, since of all paper products this commodity has the largest number of buyers, and the matter of taste is not so over-shadowed by technical considerations, as in the case of printing papers.
The specifications for general printing, involve more knowledge of printing processes than most people possess, hence the final decision rests in a majority of cases on the printer’s judgment, so that logically the printer is the most necessary individual to convert.
Although there has been a marked increase of late in the exploitation of mill brands, there is no indication of the disappearance of jobbers’ brands. A consumer today may fill nearly every requirement at will from either class, and this condition will probably continue indefinitely, although the tide seems to be setting for the moment toward the mill brands.
This condition is not confined to the paper trade, and is probably due largely to the aggressive advertising of manufacturers. Such promotion work is still in its infancy, and a continuation of a growing demand for mill brands may safely be predicted for sometime to come.
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
There are two principal trade associations in the paper business, one composed of manufacturers and the other of jobbers.
The American Paper & Pulp Association, composed entirely of manufacturers was organized in 1877. Its purposes were described by its President at the Annual Meeting of 1914, as “entirely educational.” It collects and distributes statistics of production, and consumption, among its members, aims to develop cost systems, agrees upon trades customs, and seeks to bring about uniformity in these respects. Technical education has been the subject of much study by the Association, and it is hoped will lead to the establishment of trade schools.
A labor bureau is maintained, which helps manufacturers to find help, and laborers to secure work.