New Society Publishers was the first publisher, working with our printer Friesens,to bring 100% post-consumer paper into the North American printing scene in 2002 – nearly two decades ago.
We have recently discovered that a small selection of our books printed at Lightning Source by Ingram Content Group, in the print on demand program, are not printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
Print-on-demand technology has many benefits. It allows titles to be printed where they are needed and avoids the carbon footprint of shipping. It reduces the need for extensive warehouse space. Titles can stay in print longer and old classics can be given new life. This sort of printing makes a lot of environmental sense as long as we are not having to make trade-offs with the paper selection.
Fortunately, the team at Ingram Content Group have shown they are true to their word saying “Whatever your objectives, Lightning has a print and distribution model to fit your needs.” New Society Publishers recently initiated a conversation with Rob Grindstaff, Business Development & Sales Operations Director at Ingram Content Group and his team to find out how we can to ensure 100% post-consumer paper is available to publishers wishing to print at Lightning Source.
Grindstaff is in the first stages of establishing demand for what will be a new product at Lightning Source. He said, “ We have yet to look into 100% recycled paper stock.” He needs to build a business case for the paper. That is where you come in.
Readers and book publishers can add their weight to this conversation by writing to https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgrindstaff/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-beasley-6698aa1a/ ,operations manager at Ingram Content Group, requesting to know the timeline for when the 100% post-consumer recycled paper stock will be available at Lightning Source.
Publishers can post comments to the Ingram Publishers group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/IngramPublishers/. Including information on whether or not you are willing to pay more for these books, and how many books you would be putting into the program is definitely helpful.
The more we can demonstrate a demand for this paper the sooner it will be made available to the more 20 thousand publishers who access this service. That’s a lot of trees to save when trees matter more than ever. Forests have an integral role to play in addressing climate change. Intact forests have the capacity to contribute over 1/3 of global climate change mitigation. Now is the time to move away from printing ANY books on paper sourced from virgin forests.
