Hemp is quickly advancing and making its way into our everyday lives. The latest in hemp news is German paper manufacturer Hahnemühle recently launched the world’s first hybrid printing paper made from hemp fibers. 

Last month, the product was first showcased at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2021 when they demonstrated that uncoated hemp paper could be used for book or brochure printing. The paper is designed for high-speed inkjet, analog offset, and other dynamic digital printing systems.

The product and business development manager at Hahnemühle, Heidemarie Hinger, told Print Week that this is the first paper made from sustainable hemp fibers grown in Europe for “environmentally conscious print products.” He said it’s going to be a hot commodity due to its “authenticity and haptics of a paper made from sustainable hemp fibres.”

We should expect Hahnemühle’s hemp paper to deliver quality results in text, photo, and image printing for authors, agencies, print providers, and publishers. In fact, the hemp paper was developed exclusively to print the book H is for HEMP, author and photographer Maren Krings’ hemp encyclopedia.  

Krings told Print Week that with her worldwide photo documentation and extensive research on hemp, she wants to encourage others to step outside of their comfort zones and “get involved in proactive problem solving of our socio-ecological crisis.” In addition, she said she was committed to finding hemp paper to print her book to make her “own work more sustainable and to use hemp wherever possible.”

Hahnemühle’s hemp paper surpassed her expectations with its “beautifully tactile and sensory experience,” which ultimately gave the book a refreshing and whole new look. Not only is it visually appealing, but it also helps European forests by using alternative raw materials for papermaking.

Hahnemühle uses pure spring water to make its hemp paper, and the company has been using spring water since establishing its sole production facility in a natural reserve. After a largely closed paper machine cycle that avoids chemical cleaning agents, biocides, and preservatives, the water runs into a nearby river.

It’s truly impressive to see Hahnemühle use 100% renewable energy sources for their manufacturing processes. The company’s hemp paper is acid-free, vegan, and available in 280gsm, 80gsm, and comes in rolls up to 50 inches. Hahnemühle also says the paper is suitable for HP Indigo sheetfed digital presses and HP PageWide web presses.

Hahnemühle’s headquarters lie in Dassel, Southern Lower Saxony, but the company also has offices in the UK, France, the US, Singapore, and China. It has been producing fine paper since 1584 and is known for making traditional and digital FineArt papers for painting and printing and FineNotes stationery products.