Press ReleasesNippon Paper Industries Expands Lineup of FRONTYTOUGH 80 High-bulk Mechanical PaperMarketing of FRONTYTOUGH Series Resumed
with Restoration of Paper Machine No. 8 at Ishinomaki Mill

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

In December, Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (President: Yoshio Haga) released paper with a 55 g base weight and 110 µm paper thickness and with a 65 g base weight and 130 µm thickness as two new additions to the FRONTYTOUGH 80 lineup, characterized by 80% brightness and high printing reproducibility. This comes after resuming production and marketing of the high-bulk FRONTYTOUGH Series of mechanical paper, for which supply had been halted due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. With base weight and paper thickness ranging between 55 g and 95 g and 110 µm and 190 µm, respectively, the solid lineup of FRONTYTOUGH 80 is ready to meet customer demand.

Since its launch last December, the FRONTYTOUGH Series has been highly regarded by customers for its successful reduction of weight of conventional mechanical paper by using our advanced bulking technology, while maintaining an equal level of paper thickness to that of conventional products. This March, Ishinomaki Mill (Ishinomaki City, Miyagi prefecture), a mill that manufactures the series, was directly hit by the tsunami. The mill's operation was completely stopped and we remained incapable of supplying the products. After companywide restoration efforts, paper machine No. 8 resumed operations in September, along with production of the FRONTYTOUGH Series. Marketing of the series began last month.

The FRONTYTOUGH Series is characterized by a combination of light weight and high opacity, as well as substantial thickness and softness. This makes it easier to flip through pages and enables books with fewer pages to appear thicker than with other types of paper. While retaining appropriate thickness, the paper is lightweight and ensures a highly textured printing finish -- advantages that can be maximized in numerous different applications such as book and magazine pages.