If you thought the paper industry was going to fade out, think again! The common presumption that digitization would replace paper holds no value even in the post-pandemic world challenged by industrial supply chains and the spike in digital products and services. On the flip side, the pandemic has provided unprecedented possibilities for the pulp and paper manufacturers in areas relating to personal hygiene, food and corrugated packaging, as well as medical specialty papers.

Surely though, the structure of the industry landscape is changing and the exuberance of the market R&D is now far beyond the “mass-produced” tag that stifled it. What used to be the novelty-inducing “originals” are now replaced by digital fine art printing for limited edition artworks. Spearheading the revolution in the paper industry for centuries, strictly adhering to the spirit of its founding fathers into a customer-oriented and innovative manufacturing facility is Hahnemühle. Founded in 1584 as a paper mill in South Lower Saxony’s Solling uplands, Hahnemühle’s product range has been the markers of the evolution—from mold-made papers to artist papers and the newest fine-art inkjet papers for digital print.

“Our high-quality papers are produced from fresh spring water from the environmentally protected areas of the Solling Mountains. The availability of fresh water was the main factor for choosing to settle in this location more than four centuries ago. Till today, we use the same pure, soft spring water which is later collected in the production cycle and reused. As a legacy enterprise, we are passionate about sustainability in our manufacturing processes and makes sure our wastewater is not contaminated with pollutants and is returned to the water cycle,” says Jan Wölfle, CEO, Hahnemühle.

The company’s high-grade paper quality is a testament to its commitment to nature and all the environmental regulations and frameworks. The company’s ashless filter paper for quantitative analysis is a purity standard in itself. The paper burns without ash—proof to the fully pure and naturally sourced materials used in its manufacturing.

“Our product quality has once again been rewarded with the title ‘Brand of the Century’, a renewed award for the top-ranking German brands. Especially during the Covid crisis, we have lived up to the consistency and reliability that comes with our brand by always reaching out to our customers and maintaining the customer base in more than 130 countries. We have also been developing new products together with partners and making great strides in terms of quality and sustainability,” says Wölfle.

What makes Hahnemühle a dream partner is their ability to produce low volume customized papers. The company’s quick-paced R&D is constantly on its toes to keep pace with the growing customer demand. (Wait for their never-before-seen-or-heard authenticity mark with the artist’s DNA-embedded paper!) In addition to the manufacturing of traditional artist papers, Hahnemühle today focuses on producing refined papers for digital print. The company invented the Digital FineArt paper made of genuine artist paper with the finest inkjet coating, haptical surfaces, structures, and highest longevity (more than 100 years) in the industry. The high-end range of unique, high-quality FineArt inkjet papers are perfect for FineArt prints, special editions, long-term exhibitions, and art collections, making them the highest market shareholder in the digital fine art space.

Our product quality has once again been rewarded with the title ‘Brand of the Century’, a renewed award for the top-ranking German brands.

Apart from producing premium papers for artistic and graphic use, a growing part of the business also leans towards the development and production of technical specialty papers and filtration papers for industry and research. The company has also expanded to a whole array of specialty papers for the medical space like the high-volume cartridge-based test system for corona virus and the HaMuNa Care range with medical masks and mouth and nose covers.

With the impressive portfolio of premium-quality sustainable papers, Hahnemühle is planning to expand internationally for the road ahead. “Our vision is towards environmental stewardship and to inspire communities and customers alike by creating products that last generations. We have high hopes for Asia, Pacific and Latin America in terms of distribution and will continue to innovate our current product categories—traditional artist papers, digital papers and papers for the life-science space,” concludes Wölfle.