Three labels. Three very different materials. One mistake that costs sellers money repeatedly.
Left Over Stock, Off-Spec, and Broke are the three most common classifications for surplus paper in the trade. They appear on offers, inquiries, and trading platforms every day. They are frequently used as if they mean the same thing. They do not.
Left Over Stock is on-specification material. It meets the grade standard - brightness, caliper, basis weight, formation - in every measurable parameter. It exists because a production run ended, a contract was cancelled, or inventory accumulated beyond immediate need. The paper is not defective. It is surplus. Positioned correctly, it commands a price close to the current market rate for that grade.
Off-Spec is material that was produced to a target specification but fell outside one or more parameters. A brightness point below target. A caliper variance outside tolerance. A basis weight deviation. The degree of deviation matters enormously. Slightly off-spec SBS board may still be usable by a converter willing to adjust their process. Significantly off-spec material may only be suitable for downgraded end-uses. The seller who labels Left Over Stock as Off-Spec leaves real money on the table.
Broke is mill waste - the trimmings, start-up sheets, rejected rolls from the paper machine itself. It has value as a fibre source for recycled grades but should never be priced or positioned as a converted product.
On the Circular Industry Cloud, sellers classify their material correctly - and connect with buyers who understand the distinction.
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