printing papers demand for printing papers products is closely corre- lated with changes in commercial printing and advertising activity , direct mail volumes and , for uncoated cut-size products , with changes in white- collar employment levels that affect the usage of copy and laser printer paper . pulp is further affected by changes in currency rates that can enhance or disadvantage producers in different geographic regions . principal cost drivers include manufacturing efficiency , raw material and energy costs and freight costs . pr int ing papers net sales for 2012 were about flat with 2011 and increased 5% ( 5 % ) from 2010 . operat- ing profits in 2012 were 31% ( 31 % ) lower than in 2011 , but 25% ( 25 % ) higher than in 2010 . excluding facility closure costs and impairment costs , operating profits in 2012 were 30% ( 30 % ) lower than in 2011 and 25% ( 25 % ) lower than in 2010 . benefits from higher sales volumes ( $ 58 mil- lion ) were more than offset by lower sales price real- izations and an unfavorable product mix ( $ 233 million ) , higher operating costs ( $ 30 million ) , higher maintenance outage costs ( $ 17 million ) , higher input costs ( $ 32 million ) and other items ( $ 6 million ) . in addition , operating profits in 2011 included a $ 24 million gain related to the announced repurposing of our franklin , virginia mill to produce fluff pulp and an $ 11 million impairment charge related to our inverurie , scotland mill that was closed in 2009 . printing papers .
what was the operating margin from printing papers in 2012
north american pr int ing papers net sales were $ 2.7 billion in 2012 , $ 2.8 billion in 2011 and $ 2.8 billion in 2010 . operating profits in 2012 were $ 331 million compared with $ 423 million ( $ 399 million excluding a $ 24 million gain associated with the repurposing of our franklin , virginia mill ) in 2011 and $ 18 million ( $ 333 million excluding facility clo- sure costs ) in 2010 . sales volumes in 2012 were flat with 2011 . average sales margins were lower primarily due to lower export sales prices and higher export sales volume . input costs were higher for wood and chemicals , but were partially offset by lower purchased pulp costs . freight costs increased due to higher oil prices . manufacturing operating costs were favorable reflecting strong mill performance . planned main- tenance downtime costs were slightly higher in 2012 . no market-related downtime was taken in either 2012 or 2011 . entering the first quarter of 2013 , sales volumes are expected to increase compared with the fourth quar- ter of 2012 reflecting seasonally stronger demand . average sales price realizations are expected to be relatively flat as sales price realizations for domestic and export uncoated freesheet roll and cutsize paper should be stable . input costs should increase for energy , chemicals and wood . planned maintenance downtime costs are expected to be about $ 19 million lower with an outage scheduled at our georgetown mill versus outages at our courtland and eastover mills in the fourth quarter of 2012 . braz i l ian papers net sales for 2012 were $ 1.1 bil- lion compared with $ 1.2 billion in 2011 and $ 1.1 bil- lion in 2010 . operating profits for 2012 were $ 163 million compared with $ 169 million in 2011 and $ 159 million in 2010 . sales volumes in 2012 were higher than in 2011 as international paper improved its segment position in the brazilian market despite weaker year-over-year conditions in most markets . average sales price realizations improved for domestic uncoated freesheet paper , but the benefit was more than offset by declining prices for exported paper . margins were favorably affected by an increased proportion of sales to the higher- margin domestic market . raw material costs increased for wood and chemicals , but costs for purchased pulp decreased . operating costs and planned maintenance downtime costs were lower than in 2011 . looking ahead to 2013 , sales volumes in the first quarter are expected to be lower than in the fourth quarter of 2012 due to seasonally weaker customer demand for uncoated freesheet paper . average sales price realizations are expected to increase in the brazilian domestic market due to the realization of an announced sales price increase for uncoated free- sheet paper , but the benefit should be partially offset by pricing pressures in export markets . average sales margins are expected to be negatively impacted by a less favorable geographic mix . input costs are expected to be about flat due to lower energy costs being offset by higher costs for wood , purchased pulp , chemicals and utilities . planned maintenance outage costs should be $ 4 million lower with no outages scheduled in the first quarter . operating costs should be favorably impacted by the savings generated by the start-up of a new biomass boiler at the mogi guacu mill . european papers net sales in 2012 were $ 1.4 bil- lion compared with $ 1.4 billion in 2011 and $ 1.3 bil- lion in 2010 . operating profits in 2012 were $ 179 million compared with $ 196 million ( $ 207 million excluding asset impairment charges related to our inverurie , scotland mill which was closed in 2009 ) in 2011 and $ 197 million ( $ 199 million excluding an asset impairment charge ) in 2010 . sales volumes in 2012 compared with 2011 were higher for uncoated freesheet paper in both europe and russia , while sales volumes for pulp were lower in both regions . average sales price realizations for uncoated .