Tips For Avoiding the Dreaded "Mill Stock" Monkey Wrench

It happens to everyone. You work hard to choose a paper that is a perfect complement to your totally awesome design, only to find as the project nears completion, that the paper is not stocked by the merchant.

Panic, Anger, and Dread ensue.  Okay, maybe not so much. But it can be an added delay that your project cannot afford to encounter.

So what can you do to make sure this doesn't happen to you?

My first, last and biggest tip is to encourage you to work with your local paper rep and printer at the start of the project (or at the very least, before getting your heart set on a specific paper.) Your paper rep can check to see if you have chosen a paper that is stocked. If it is, you are halfway there. Keep in mind though, even after finding this out, you aren't 100% out of the woods yet.

For example, what if the paper is stocked but not in the size your printer needs for your project? Let's say you are creating a pocket folder and your printer will eventually need a 26 x 40 sheet, but the particular paper you want to use is stocked by your merchant  in 8.5 x 11 only?

Oops, it then becomes a mill item again.

Back in the old days, a mill item was synonymous with "Okay we can get that paper for you, but it's going to take a while." Today, mill stock does not necessarily equal a long delay. (We get three trucks a week from Mohawk, where years ago we might have gotten one). Instead, mill stock usually means "CMP does not have that specific item on our floor, but we can get it for you in even cartons pretty quickly from the mill."

No problem then, right?

Well, maybe yes, and maybe no. Go back to that even cartons part for a minute.

Ordering a mill stock item means that your printer will need to purchase the entire carton of the paper ordered. If there are 500 sheets of 26 x 40 paper in the carton, you get it all. If your pocket folder finished quantity is only 100, you will more than likely have way too much extra paper, which in turn will make that paper you selected too expensive for the job.

So what can you do? You can circumvent the mill stock delay by choosing a stocked paper so your printer can order whatever quantity of sheets are needed to complete your job, or find an alternative that may still be mill stocked, but contains a smaller number of sheets in that carton. Mills have been getting smarter about packaging heavy weights and dark colors in smaller carton quantities just for this purpose!

Averting an unplanned project delay is easier than you think. Communication between the designer, printer and paper merchant is key. Begin the dialogue at the beginning. Feel free to contact me via -mail if you need any help with paper selection for your next project. terris@cmpaper.com