How LDC’s Could Affect Your Holiday Catalogs

It’s that time of year again …

For the average American the holiday season begins with a kick in November…and maybe October for the early planners. But for us in the printing and catalog/retail industries, the holiday season is well under way. At Arandell, we are deep in the midst of receiving files packed full of fur-lined boots, scarves and mittens, and delicious holiday hams and turkeys.

With the start of the “busy” holiday season, there are a few things that every cataloger must remember to ensure their books are produced to spec and delivered on time. One key factor of importance is meeting your LDC, or Last Date to Change.

LDC’s are creeping out.

According to Pulp & Paper Products Council, June shipments of printing and writing papers showed a 5.1% INCREASE over May shipments. Amazing!  This affects catalogers because we are also seeing LDC dates creeping out. In the past we have seen three- to four-week LDC dates; now they are moving out to four- to six-weeks in some cases. Why the movement? A couple reasons:

   • We are entering the typical “busy season” for paper mills, where their backlogs of orders and runs are filling up. This happens every year.

   • The mills have taken a lot of downtime throughout the slow spring season. Many of the machines are still down. Because of this, specific combinations of basis weight and grade (i.e. 80#, #3 COVER) that might have been manufactured twice per month in the past, are now only manufactured once, and thereby increasing lead times and LDC’s.

In the past six- to eight months paper has been readily available; last-second spot orders have been able to be filled. Given the above two factors, however, things will continue getting tighter, and much more quickly than anticipated. 

With paper prices falling to levels last seen over a year ago, there have been cases where LDC orders have INCREASED because end users have more money to spend than the last time. Multiply situations like this all over the country, and ready dates and LDC’s could continue to move out further and further.

How to ensure you have your paper when you need it.

It is important to keep in close communication with your printer and watch your LDC dates. Make sure you and your team are ready when it comes time to finalize everything. Missing your LDC could drastically affect your holiday selling season.

• Tags:
• catalog
• paper prices

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