I am fortunate to have parents who loved the great outdoors. My father’s nickname, in fact, was directly tied to his love of wild places (BOJ, for Big Outdoor John). Growing up outside put me in contact with everything Mother Nature had to offer. Consequently, it became apparent to me early on that most resources were finite. There was only so much open land, so much water, and only so many of our beloved wildlife species. Without knowing it, my parents introduced me to the concept of sustainability. How do we make what we have last?

After discovering photography, I found myself immersed in the traditional wet darkroom. Suddenly, I was spending my days with emulsions, papers, and chemical baths. Water use was considerable, and my favorite darkroom paper was loaded with silver. We made great efforts to conserve, but even with these efforts, films and papers began to change. Silver prices began to rise, and subsequently, silver levels in paper began to drop. Certain materials were discontinued due to their use of toxic metals. Recycling efforts began in earnest. Instead of pouring our fixer down the drain, which was the recommendation in those early days, we began using silver traps to reclaim and reuse what we could. We knew this was more than procedure. This was a mantra to live by. Learn to be sustainable.

Sustainability was an integral part of Blurb from the very beginning. It wasn’t just the ink, paper, and energy; it was a genuine concern for resources, coupled with the drive to maximize efficiency. Sustainability wasn’t an obstacle to be overcome; it was baked into the DNA of operations, goals, and forecasts.

Bjorn van Hamond is my European counterpart—he works at RPI Print, which is the company that powers Blurb’s books. We share much in common. Photography, bookmaking, running, and cycling. He routinely rides to work on his bicycle, and anyone who knows anything about Dutch weather knows this is no easy task. When it comes to sustainability, Europe leads the way through legally binding targets, green finance, and sustainable urban planning, amongst other programs. Bjorn oversees RPI Print’s Eindhoven facility, which commits to sustainability through a variety of programs impacting both the company’s environmental footprint and the well-being of employees.

Bjorn was kind enough to sit for an interview to tell us more about the commitment to sustainability.

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What is print-on-demand printing, and how were most books printed before this new technology?

Print-on-demand is built on a simple but transformative idea: a book is produced only when someone wants it. For decades, the industry relied on offset printing, where thousands of copies had to be made upfront to keep costs low. It worked well for large runs, but it also meant warehouses full of inventory and, too often, books that never found a reader. Offset is highly efficient at scale, but it leaves little room for flexibility or responsiveness.

Digital printing changed that landscape. With print-on-demand, a single high-quality book or a short run can be produced the moment it is ordered. There is no excess inventory and no guessing how many copies will sell. At the same time, technological progress has made creating a book far more accessible. Tools like Blurb’s BookWright allow anyone to design, experiment, and refine their ideas without the high costs traditionally associated with proofs. The distance between an idea and a finished, bookstore-quality book has never been shorter, opening the door to a more intentional and sustainable way of making books.

How does POD impact sustainability compared to other methods of printing?

Print-on-demand improves sustainability by eliminating the most significant source of waste in traditional printing: overproduction. Offset requires large print runs to be efficient, which means demand must be predicted with a high degree of accuracy to avoid getting stuck with unsold books. POD turns that model around by producing only what is actually ordered, so materials, energy, and transport are used with far more precision.

Because books no longer sit in warehouses or move through multiple storage locations, the logistics footprint also shrinks. Production happens closer to the reader, and shipping routes become shorter, which reduces emissions and packaging.

On the production floor, digital printing avoids plate-making, setup sheets, and make-ready waste inherent to offset. And when combined with certified papers, safer chemistries, and renewable energy, the environmental footprint of each POD book becomes significantly lower. In essence, POD aligns production with real demand. It reduces waste, shortens supply chains, and uses resources more responsibly.

What type of machinery is used for POD?

Print-on-demand relies on high-quality digital presses, such as HP Indigo and Canon production inkjet systems. These machines deliver excellent color consistency and can switch instantly between jobs, enabling true single-copy production. Once printed, the pages move into a variety of finishing lines that cut, bind, and trim the book before it undergoes a thorough quality check and is sent to the customer.

Unique single-copy production requires far more than fast equipment. Buying powerful machines alone will not deliver real POD capability. Innovative and scalable production workflows are essential. Every file, every order, and every job must flow through the system with minimal human intervention. In POD, no day looks the same, and the ability to anticipate and adapt to fluctuating incoming volumes is just as critical as the presses themselves. In the end, it is the combination of advanced digital printing technology and intelligent workflow automation that makes POD efficient, flexible, and reliable.

We now know the upsides of POD, but are there any limits or downsides to using this approach?

Like any technology, print-on-demand has strengths and limitations. Although digital print behaves differently from offset in a few highly specialized cases, today’s digital presses deliver consistently excellent quality, making them the preferred choice for nearly all on-demand book production. The encouraging part is that innovation in POD is moving fast, not only in digital presses but also in finishing and the range of compatible materials. What once required specialist craftsmanship is steadily being industrialized, with greater consistency, faster turnaround times, and broader access for creators.

That progress, however, also marks a shift. Some special productions simply do not translate well to on-demand workflows. A hand-bound book with a linen cover, gold foil, multiple paper stocks, and a mix of black-and-white and color signatures is possible, but not scalable and extremely expensive as a single-copy production. The same applies to huge book formats, which require dedicated binding equipment that is far less common in POD facilities.

Tell us about RPI Prints’s efforts to address sustainability. Were these efforts part of a master plan, and what are some of the accomplishments to date? 

At RPI Print, sustainability is a strategic priority and an integral part of our culture and company values. We recognise that every decision has an impact, and we act accordingly. As a company, we aim to be carbon neutral by 2040. That is a serious and ambitious goal, and reaching it requires close collaboration with customers, suppliers, and partners across the entire value chain. Our progress reflects that mindset. We are reducing waste, eliminating unnecessary plastics, investing in renewable energy, and producing as locally as possible so orders travel fewer miles. Each step helps us lower our environmental footprint, and together they form a continuous journey toward a more sustainable way across our operations around the globe. We learn every day and still have a way to go, but we allow ourselves the time to do it properly and in a way that truly makes a difference.

Europe has some of the world’s toughest environmental standards. What is one practice from our EU facility that you think every print company should be doing globally?

In general, Europe’s approach differs in two ways. First, the regulatory framework pushes transparency and safer chemistry, which accelerates better choices across energy, materials, and reporting. Stricter rules on substances, packaging, and extended producer responsibility create an environment where companies are expected to demonstrate provenance, impact, and continuous improvement. Second, the ecosystem makes it easier to act. Green electricity is widely available, certified fiber has become the nor,m and customers increasingly expect sustainability to be built into products rather than added on later.

If I had to choose one practice to adopt globally in print as a starting point, it would be a full commitment to renewable energy wherever it is available. It is one of the most direct and meaningful ways to reduce the footprint of print production. But it does not stop there. Using the most sustainable materials you can source, understanding where those materials come from and how they are produced, and being conscious of the impact behind every choice should be standard practice across the industry. Challenge yourself every day by asking a simple question: Is this the most responsible way to do it, and how can it be improved? That mindset of curiosity, transparency, and continuous improvement is just as important as the technology itself.

Do customers consider sustainability when making a purchase? And have you seen an increased awareness over the past few years?

Fortunately, yes. Sustainability has become a structural part of almost every conversation we have with customers. There is hardly a single partner who is not thinking about it. Some are still finding their way, others are leading the discussion, but the awareness is universal and growing. What is especially encouraging is the shift toward collaboration. Sustainability is seen as a shared responsibility, and customers expect tangible results and a story that holds up under scrutiny. Greenwashing is no longer accepted, and rightly so.

This change is also visible in consumer behaviour. I recently read a European market study showing that three out of four Europeans are aware of the impact of their consumption choices. 69% percent actively consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions, and that number continues to rise. That consumer mindset naturally works its way back up the value chain, influencing brands and, ultimately, the producers they choose to produce their products.

A book is more than paper; it’s ink, glue, and energy. How is RPI Print making sure that the chemicals and materials we use don’t make a book harmful at the end of its life?

A fully circular book remains my personal dream, but the reality today is that some chemistry is still needed. Adhesives, for example, are essential to create a book that lasts for years, and even though they contain chemical bonds, they do not prevent the paper from being recycled at the end of its life. When a book enters the European recycling stream, it is repulped, the fibers are recovered, and inks, glues, and coatings are removed through established cleaning and deinking processes. Europe has one of the highest paper recycling rates in the world, with about seventy-five percent of all paper and board being recycled each year, which means the system works efficiently.

The removed ink and adhesive residues end up in a sludge stream, which does not go to waste. Depending on the region, it is used for energy recovery or processed into other industrial applications, such as cement or mineral recovery. The important part is that none of this prevents the fiber from re-entering the circular system. Our role is to choose safe, compliant materials, work with suppliers who innovate in lower-impact chemistries, and keep improving our specifications so that every book we make is not only durable but also fully compatible with existing recycling infrastructure.

Is 100% recycled paper always the most sustainable choice?

Not necessarily. Recycled paper can be a strong sustainable option, but it is not automatically the lowest-carbon one. Recycling fibers requires energy, water, and chemicals, and depending on the grade, the carbon footprint can even be higher than producing fresh certified fibers. Recycled fibers also become shorter after each cycle, so the paper industry always needs a steady supply of new, responsibly sourced fibers to keep the global loop healthy.

That is why the most sustainable choice is often a well-balanced mix of recycled and certified virgin fibers. Almost all the paper we use worldwide is FSC certified, and our Eindhoven facility is FSC certified as well, using one hundred percent FSC-certified materials as standard. This ensures that the fresh fibers entering the system come from responsibly managed forests and support long-term circularity rather than depleting them.

So instead of aiming for one hundred percent recycled in every case, it is more sustainable to choose the paper that offers the best combination of performance, low waste, and certified sourcing. That is ultimately what keeps the carbon footprint lowest across the full lifecycle of the book.

What are the greatest challenges moving forward?

In Afrikaans, the word for sustainability is volhoubaarheid, which literally means the ability to endure or to keep something going over the long term. I like that interpretation, because it captures the real challenge we face today. Sustainability is not only about the right materials or the right energy sources; it is about building systems and habits that can withstand time, pressure, and constant change. And that is difficult, because so many factors lie outside a company’s direct control. The world is full of disruptions. Political instability, economic volatility, and a growing sense of polarization. These external forces can shift overnight, and they make long-term progress harder to secure or predict. Yet the idea behind volhoubaarheid remains essential: staying positive,

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Dan Milnor is Blurb’s creative ambassador. He shares photography, marketing, and self-publishing advice monthly. Register for free to get his insights straight to your inbox.