UPM has developed standard newsprint grades at its Caledonian paper mill in Scotland, introducing a new domestic supply option for UK publishers and printers ahead of the planned end of newsprint production at Palm’s King’s Lynn mill.

The new grades are available in 40 and 42.5 g/m² basis weights and are initially being supplied for coldset web offset printing.

UPM is also conducting customer trials for heatset web offset applications, according to information provided by the company to PrintWeek and subsequently reported by PITA.

The move represents a notable change for UPM Caledonian, whose established production has primarily focused on lightweight coated magazine papers.

Guardian Tests New Caledonian Newsprint

Guardian News & Media is among the customers that have tested the new paper.

Production director Dave Kirwan confirmed the trials to PrintWeek, providing an early indication that UPM is evaluating the grade under commercial newspaper production conditions.

However, several important details remain undisclosed.

UPM has not announced the expected annual production volume for the new grades or indicated how much of Caledonian’s existing capacity could ultimately be allocated to newsprint.

The company has also not publicly stated whether introducing the grades requires additional capital investment at the mill.

These details will be important in determining how significant Caledonian could become within the UK’s changing newsprint supply structure.

Caledonian Has 235,000 Tonnes of Annual Capacity

Located in Irvine, North Ayrshire, UPM Caledonian operates one paper machine with annual production capacity of approximately 235,000 tonnes.

The mill traditionally manufactures lightweight coated papers used primarily for magazines, catalogues and other printed applications.

Moving into standard newsprint therefore gives the site another product option within a European publication-paper market facing long-term demand contraction.

UPM’s move is particularly timely because another major change is approaching in the UK paper industry.

Palm to Exit Newsprint Production at King’s Lynn

Palm plans to convert PM7 at its King’s Lynn mill from newsprint to lightweight recycled corrugated case material during the first quarter of 2027.

The machine currently has approximately 400,000 tonnes per year of newsprint capacity.

Following the conversion, Palm expects PM7 to produce as much as 700,000 tonnes of corrugated case material annually, with basis weights starting at 60 g/m².

Palm has linked the investment to the continuing structural decline of European newsprint consumption.

According to the company, newsprint demand in Western Europe has fallen approximately 60% over the past decade.

The conversion therefore represents a significant capacity shift: rather than maintaining exposure to declining publication-paper demand, Palm is repositioning the machine toward recycled containerboard.

UK Newsprint Demand Could Fall Below 300,000 Tonnes

The changing production landscape comes as UK newsprint consumption continues to decline.

Market consultancy EMGE estimated UK demand for newsprint, including improved newsprint grades, at approximately 340,000 tonnes in 2025, according to figures cited by PITA.

Demand could fall below 300,000 tonnes in 2026, with year-to-date consumption reportedly down 13%.

That creates an unusual market dynamic.

The UK is losing a large domestic newsprint production source at the same time that total demand for the grade is shrinking.

Palm’s existing 400,000-tonne annual capacity at King’s Lynn is already larger than the UK’s estimated 2025 newsprint demand. UPM Caledonian’s entry should therefore not be interpreted simply as replacement of Palm’s entire production volume.

Instead, it gives publishers and printers another potential UK-based supply source as the market adjusts to Palm’s planned conversion.

Publication Paper Mills Look for Flexibility

The developments at Caledonian and King’s Lynn also illustrate two different responses to the same structural pressure.

Palm is moving away from newsprint and toward recycled corrugated case material.

UPM Caledonian, meanwhile, is adding newsprint alongside a production base historically focused on lightweight coated publication papers.

Both decisions come against the backdrop of declining demand for traditional printed publications.

For UPM, the ability to manufacture another paper grade could provide additional production flexibility as customers’ requirements and European publication-paper markets evolve.

The scale of that opportunity remains uncertain.

UPM has not disclosed how much newsprint Caledonian could produce, and the UK’s underlying newsprint market continues to contract.

But with Palm preparing to stop making the grade at King’s Lynn in 2027, UPM Caledonian has positioned itself as a new domestic newsprint supplier precisely as the UK’s supply structure is being reshaped.

Last Updated on 26/08/2026 by Jota Machinery