Sustainable Book Printing: How To Publish With a Smaller Carbon Footprint

Printing your book doesn’t have to cost the earth. There are more ways than you might think to limit your carbon footprint and keep sustainability front of mind when you’re printing. Whether it be a self-published novel, a creative art book, a business brochure or anything else, it’s important to strike the perfect balance between professional quality and eco-conscious care when printing. We delve into some of the tips and tricks that will assist you on your printing journey to publish your book with a smaller carbon footprint.

Sustainability Thrives on Organisation

First things first - it’s time to get organised. The better you are at planning in the early stages of creating your book, the more control you’ll have over the size of your carbon footprint. Sustainable book printing starts long before you send your project off to print - it starts with the birth of your idea.

There are a range of easy tips to keep in mind as you’re crafting your book. One of the easiest ways to save paper when you print your project is to limit the number of pages it is in the first place. While saving one page here or there in a 200-page or so book might not sound like a lot, when you multiply that by however many copies you are printing, you’ll discover that you can save a significant amount of paper. To help reduce the page count, make sure to optimise the formatting of your pages, using as much of the available space while still ensuring your book is easily readable. Limiting colour in your book also limits the emissions produced by the printer during production - plus, it’ll save you some easy money.

Another helpful way to ensure you’re keeping the environment front of mind in the drafting process of your book is to limit the amount of drafts you’re printing. While it can be tempting to want to read your work-in-progress as a physical product, printing work that can just as easily be read on a computer screen in the writing and editing stages is a sure-fire way to use up unnecessary volumes of paper and carbon emissions created by the printer.

What to Consider When You Send Your Project to the Printer

Now it’s time to print your book! Sending your work to the printer and seeing it come to life as a tangible vessel for stories is no doubt the most exciting part of your book printing journey. However, before you hit print, consider these handy parcels of wisdom that will help you lessen your environmental impact.

Once your book is completed, it’s best to work out how many copies you need. Not only is sitting down and doing the math on the number of books you realistically want to print good practice at saving paper and limiting landfill, but - as with so many other parts of choosing the most sustainable options - it’s also good for your wallet. Modern book printing makes sending books to the printer both easy and efficient, so it’s always best to underestimate how many copies you want before you over-print. It’s also important to use a local printing service - whether it be domestic or even a local one in your community - to bring your book to life, limiting your book’s carbon emissions created by the transport between you and the printer.

You can also consider alternatives to printing your book, such as distributing it as a digital product - like an e-book - or creating an audiobook version for your audience to listen to online. Additionally, print-on-demand services can be helpful if you’re unsure of how many copies you’ll need to print. These services only print your project once it is ordered, limiting the number of unsold copies and wasted paper. However, you will need to take into consideration that printing your work through a print-on-demand service can also use more energy and produce more waste, especially when elements like ink cartridges and unused paper aren’t recycled properly. If you’re printing a limited amount of copies of your book, it can actually work out more sustainable to invest that energy into a small print run - for example, 50 to 100 copies - with a printer that uses digital book printing, especially when that printer guarantees a thorough recycling afterlife for the materials used, as well as eco-conscious paper to create your book - which we’ll explore further below.

Utilising paper materials that have been granted environmental certification is both an easy and significant step in reducing your carbon footprint. Look out for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) stamp of approval when selecting the paper you use for your book. These labels mean that every sheet of paper is able to be traced back to responsibly managed forests. There are also carbon-neutral options that offset the paper’s environmental impact through verified carbon reduction programs, as well as 100% recycled paper options.

Recycling: The Bridge Between the End and the Beginning

Congratulations - you’ve printed your book! Despite what you may think, the path to a smaller carbon footprint doesn’t end here. There are plenty of ways to ensure you are continuing your sustainability efforts long after your printing is finished.

Recycling paper is as important to a sustainable printing process as any of the pre-production steps - while you may not bear witness to this stage of environmental effort personally, it’s easy to choose a printer that prioritises an efficient paper recycling system. At FolioFox, we make sure that any waste paper during the printing process doesn’t end up in landfill. Instead, this paper is recycled with an Australian family-owned business, starting its life over again as new paper. The same ideas that underpin this process are also applied to our empty inkjet printer bottles and used toner cartridges - our recycling partners help us save these used up parts from landfill by undergoing material recovery and getting new leases on life.

From limiting your book’s page count to carefully selecting certified paper, there are a range of ways to reduce your carbon footprint in the book printing process. You don’t need to settle for anything less than the best quality and the most sustainable practices - you just need to strike the perfect balance of both.

‍To learn more about our sustainable book printing services and get started on your printing journey, get in touch with our team today. We're here to help you navigate the evolving world of printing with confidence.