New Backprints on Original Photo Paper

At FUJIFILM, we have been a partner of FSC since 2017. From that year on, more and more of our photo papers have been certified with the FSC label. We strongly believe it is very important that the use of our beautiful papers does not contribute to global deforestation.

The FSC Certification confirms that the forests providing raw materials for our papers are being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability. FSC-certified forests are managed to strict environmental, social and economic standards.

At this moment 100% of the papers produced in the largest photo paper factory in the world (Fujifilm Tilburg, NL) are FSC Certified. So now is the time to show this to all partners that work with our papers and all customers who enjoy the end products in the form of photo prints, photo books, wall decoration and so much more. The best way to do that is by adding the FSC Trademark to our backprints.

You can recognize a FUJIFILM employee quite easily. When pictures are shown by friends and family, most often the first thing we do is to have a quick look at the backside of the picture. In many cases, a backprint is present where we prefer to see FUJIFILM, knowing we can be sure of high-quality prints. In addition to the brand logo, the paper type is also mentioned. In the 40 years that photo paper has been produced in Tilburg, many types have been added to the portfolio in various categories such as Sharing for consumer prints and Professional for exhibiting photography in art galleries. All recognizable by their own backprint.

Now we are going to add the FSC label, it is time to give these backprints a new design. First let us explain how we add a backprint onto our paper. This print is applied to the back of the paper by means of an engraved roller that applies the inks evenly. This is a very secure operation in which the density of the final reproduction is determined by varying the depth. The aim is, of course, to achieve a print that is easy to read but it should also not be too dark that you can see it at the front of the picture. In addition to the depth of the engraving, fine-tuning can take place later through the ink colour.

Not all papers have backprints. An example is our category Album papers. As these are always glued together back-to-back to form a (lay flat) photo book, adding a backprint is not required. We also use the backprint of the professional paper (DPII) to show the end customer that it is not the intention to reproduce the prints of photographers and artists without their permission by means of a copyright claim. We keep the colours of the backprint (grey or gold) for each paper type unchanged as determined at the time of its introduction.

In the new design, we have chosen to show clear recognition of the categories in our portfolio with, of course, a mention of the specific paper type. Below you can see an example of a paper from the original photopaper and inkjet photo paper portfolio.

The first papers with the new backprints will be produced in our factory in early 2025. After that, they will soon be distributed to be developed at photo labs around the world into the high-quality photo products you make with Fujifilm Photo Papers.