Today postcards compete with SMS messages and logos sent by mobile phones. This is why the postcard industry has broadened its range of cards. Cards have also become a popular tool for direct mail advertising. To meet these new challenges, Stora Enso has increased its graphical boards production and improved the properties of Ensocoat and Ensogloss board.

Various landscape cards, greeting cards and Christmas cards still form the core of the postcard business. Demand for standard-size cards has been declining slowly for the past few years because SMS services have partly replaced birthday greeting and other congratulation cards. The postcard industry sees this new situation as a challenge and has found new uses for postcards.

"New areas of use are being found for postcards, which in our view is a very positive development. Our customers have increased their card range, which has created a demand for high-quality graphical board," says Peter Pöpping, Sales Manager at Stora Enso.

Münch Druck, one of Germany's leading companies in the card printing business, confirms that the demand for postcards is increasing in new end use areas. "Postcards are being used more and more for advertising. Free cards in restaurants and cafés are available all across Europe. Companies have started to use postcards for direct mail advertising. There is still plenty of potential in this area. The importance of tourism for the card business is also growing and, therefore, the proportional share of landscape cards is getting higher," says Manfred Wopperer, Purchasing Manager at Münch Druck.

Although Münch Druck's products are mainly sold in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy are also important export areas. According to the company, the markets are differentiating in quality. The market share of exclusive greeting cards and special-size cards has increased, while cards for mass markets are declining.

Münch Druck uses Stora Enso's Ensocoat and Ensogloss boards for printing postcards. Card board is required to have good stiffness, whiteness, gloss, and a surface suitable for multi-colour printing. The company has found Ensocoat's stiffness properties excellent compared with other SBS boards (Solid Bleached Sulphate Board). Ensocoat is reported to have one more advantage over competitor's SBS boards - the pigmented surface layer of the reverse side; and Ensogloss is two-side coated, which enables pictures or text to be printed on the reverse of a card.

"In the card business it is essential that cards do not turn yellow or curl - even if they remain on the shelf for a long period of time. Cards are often exposed to sun and so the card must have special properties in order to avert undesired effects," says Manfred Wopperer.



For further information, please contact:

Stora Enso Deutschland
Mr Peter Pöpping
Grosse Bleichen 30
D-20354 Hamburg
GERMANY
Tel: +49 40 350990
Fax: +49 40 35099156
E-mail: peter.popping@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Argentina
Mr Eduardo Galindo
Lavalle 556 4°H
AR-1047 Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA
Tel: +54 11 4 325 0195/0361
Fax: +54 11 4 394 8344
E-mail: eduardo.galindo@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Australia Pty Ltd
Mr Alan Rochford
Level 17, NCR House
8-20 Napier Street
AUS-North Sydney NSW 2060
AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 2 9955 4855
Fax: +61 2 9955 7933
E-mail: alan.rochford@storaenso.com.au

Stora Enso Brasil Ltda.
Mr Glauco Affonso
Alameda Vicente Pinzon,
Nr 144, 9th floor, Suite 93
Vila Olímpia-São Paulo/SP
BR-04547-130
BRAZIL
Tel: +55 11 3846 1611
Fax: +55 11 3846 9757
E-mail: vendas.brasil@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Chile S.A.
Mr Domenico Musone
Apoquindo 5555 Of. 909
Las Condes
Santiago De Chile
CHILE
Tel: +56 2 342 1053
Fax: +56 2 342 1080
E-mail: domenicone.musone@storaenso.com

Stora Enso France S.A.
Mr Alain Piattier / Maila Grastilleur
15/25 Boulevard de l'Amiral Bruix
F-75782 Paris Cedex 16
FRANCE
Tel: +33 1 5364 79 00
Fax: +33 1 5364 79 90
E-mail: alain.piattier@storaenso.com / maila.grastilleur@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Hellas
Mr Angelo Evgenikos
33, Vas. Sofias Ave.
GR-10675 Athens
GREECE
Tel: +30 1 723 9990
Fax: +30 1 723 5110
E-mail: angelo.evgenikos@storaenso.com

Stora Enso (HK) Ltd.
Mr Donny Chan
Rm 3605-6 World Trade Centre
280 Gloucester Road
HONG HONG S.A.R.
Tel: +852 2312 1223
Fax: +852 2576 1480
E-mail: donny.chan@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Interamericas, Inc.
Mr Jonas Pettersson, Sales Director
8750 Doral Boulevard
Suite 270
Miami, FL 33178
U.S.A
Tel: +1 305 716 9799
Fax: +1 305 716 5441
E-mail: jonas.pettersson@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Italia srl
Mr Renato Somekh
Via A. Volta, 16
I-20093 Cologno Monzese
ITALY
Tel: +39 02 251 514 74
Fax: +39 02 251 514 59
E-mail: renato.somekh@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Nederland b.v.
Mr J.W.Klarenbeek
Postbus 12386
NL-1100 AJ Amsterdam
THE NETHERLANDS
Tel: +31 20 650 5555
Fax: +31 20 650 5622
E-mail: jan-willem.klarenbeek@storaenso.com

Stora Enso North America Corp.
Mr Michael Walsh
Two Landmark Square, 3rd Floor
Stamford, CT 06901-2792
U.S.A
Tel: +1 203 356 2300
Fax: +1 203 356 2343
E-mail: michael.walsh@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Scandinavia AB
Packaging Boards
Mr Joakim Stockhaus, Sales Director
P.O. Box 70395
SE-10724 Stockholm
SWEDEN
Tel: +46 8 613 6600
Fax: +46 8 613 6770
E-mail: joakim.stockhaus@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Singapore Pte Ltd.
Mr Tom Alfthan
360 Orchard Road #11-01 International Building
SG-Singapore 238869
SINGAPORE
Tel: +65 235 3485
Fax: +65 737 4278
E-mail: tom.alfthan@storaenso.com

Stora Enso Singapore Pte. Ltd. Representative Office
Mr John Winther
Block 154-2-11
Kompleks Maluri
Jalan Jejaka, Taman Maluri
55100 Kuala Lumpur
WEST MALAYSIA
Tel: +60 3 9281 8122
Fax: +60 3 9287 3122
E-mail: john.winther@storaenso.com

Stora Enso UK Ltd.
Packaging Boards
Mr Roy Bray
1 Phoenix Place, Phoenix Centre
GB-Nottingham, NG8 6BA
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 115 964 7100
Fax: +44 115 964 7170
E-mail: roy.bray@storaenso.com

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