The impact of “Resolute Paper” on changing the publishers’ and readers’ consumption tastes

In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Ali Vazehi, an active publisher and one of the executives in Behesht Publication, pointed that the production of this type of paper called, Resolute” in Iran is not economical due to the semi-arid and dry climate of the country and discussed the specifications and the relative advantages of Resolute paper compare with the other existing types of paper on the market. He said, “The resolute paper has come to Iran 30 years late, whereas it has been the main paper of the book in Europe and the USA for several decades due to its appropriate color, grammage, and low weight, as well as it does not bother the professional readers’ eyes. In Iran  “white paper” has practically imposed itself on the taste of the users. 

Stating that last year, the pilot phase of using this type of paper  started, he added, “After initial supply of Resolute paper, numerous publishers including the Center of Islamic Sciences Publication, Parseh  Book Publication and Translation, Cheshmeh, Peydayesh, Center Publication, Ofogh Publication, Mahoor Publication, Nazar Publication, Candle and Fog Publication, Jeyhoon Publication, Meshki Publication, … have turned to the use of this type of paper and provided readers with numerous books produced by this paper one of the most valuable of which is the set of 20 volumes of “Comprehensive history of Iran” which were published by the Center of Islamic Large Encyclopedia. 

This paper importer, referring the readers’ positive feedback of using this type of paper for the production of books, said about the paper import source, “This paper is mainly imported from a few European countries like Sweden and Russia. Of course this type of paper has several grades and is mainly supplied with grammage of 60 grams but because it has appropriate bulk and thickness, it can compete with the 100 gram writing paper, while the price of its each ream in size of 90 x 60 is between 50 to 60 thousand tomans depending on its grade and grammage.  

On some other importers’ attraction to purchase and import the Resolute paper recently, Vazehi told, “This type of paper managed to dedicate share to itself on the book shelves of bookstores.” Referring to the specifications of the mentioned paper, he continued, “The coefficient bulk of the writing paper is 1 or at most 1.1, while the bulk coefficient of the Resolute paper is 2- 2.2.” and he reminded, “The more the coefficient bulk rate of the paper is, the less density it has and as a result its volume is more. Therefore, the resolute paper is more voluminous than the writing paper, and its texture is more porous. Nevertheless, it has a very smooth and tint-free surface.” 

On the problems of importing this type of paper to the country, this importer said, “I am afraid this paper was not introduced in the previous paper standards. Although the Resolute paper has the upd‌ate paper standards in Europe, it is not included in the domestic existing conventional standards. On the other hand, the white writing paper is exempted from Value Added Tax, but importing the Resolute paper is subject to the payment of 9% VAT in the Standard Office and Customs with 5% tariff of import, of course this tariff is paid for writing paper, too.”

Vazehi, referring to the attempts to solve these problems through Standard Office and the Publication Affairs Office of Ministry of Culture & Islamic Guidance, stated that the old printing machinery and low knowledge of the operators of printing houses are the serious obstacles to use Resolute paper which needs the printing machinery to be adjusted specifically and added , “Of course, we have taken some actions to solve the problems and asked the producers of this type of paper to let us have the best method of using the existing machinery in our country, and we have  even held training workshops for the printing houses in this respect which were to some extent effective.”