Tokyo, April 19, 2002 - Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Japan's leading paper and pulp manufacturing firm and a member of the Nippon Unipac Holding Group, today announced that it has successfully developed a new addition to their Pegasus line of products: Pegasus White X, a new type of low density lightweight coated paper ranked as the "best-in-class" paper for book and magazine publishers.

 

This new lightweight coated paper has an excellent paper whiteness rating combined with an equally high degree of gloss on both unprinted and printed parts, a paper that brings out the finest in visual beauty.

 

Pegasus White X has an ISO whiteness rating of 90.2%, unprecedented in Japan for lightweight coated paper, with a visual appeal that stimulates the reader. This is complemented by the highest opacity in Japan of 90.4% (60.2 g/m2), normally a difficult combination to actualize. The high opacity of the unprinted part also makes picture contrast even fresher-looking, while the whiteness and high gloss of the paper produce unequalled highlighted reproductions. The high gloss of Pegasus White X at 71% surpasses that of other Pegasus products (63%).

 

Nippon Paper Industries' proprietary papermaking technology has made these "best-in-class" gloss and opacity properties possible. Pegasus White X is produced by an advanced machine at Nippon Paper Industries' environmentally friendly Asahikawa Mill. The paper will initially be sold at the 60.2 g/m2, 64.0g/m2, and 72.3g/m2 weights, with projected sales attaining 700 tons monthly by the end of the first year.