From Pulp to Paper: YPG’s April BBL
On April 14th, 2016, YPG members (as well as some Hachette Book Group staff members) gathered in a conference room at Hachette for the month’s Brown Bag Lunch Event on paper production and sustainability in publishing.
Panelists Janet McCarthy Grimm, VP at Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, and Dan Lynch, Paper Buyer at Hachette, sat down with moderators Brigid Black, Senior Production Associate at Hachette, and Stephen Bucsok, Reprint Supervisor at Workman, to discuss the ins and outs of everything that goes into making a physical book.
The panelists began by outlining their backgrounds in the paper industry, and what they currently do in the field. Most of the YPG members who were in attendance do not work in Production, so they also included an informative overview of the processes involved in making paper for the books our industry creates.
One interesting fact: the publishing industry accounts for only 5% of paper consumption in the United States. That was a surprising statistic—and a reassuring one for environmentally conscious YPGers in the audience.
The panelists spoke about opportunities to visit and tour the paper plants as well. Bus trips are regularly scheduled for New York-based Production employees to visit the plants.
As the BBL concluded, attendees were encouraged to ask questions, which ranged from practical queries about the mechanics of paper production, to impractical but fun topics like “On the TV show The Office, the employees work at paper company. Did you identify with that show and the work environment portrayed?”
It was another successful BBL, and the YPG-ers in attendance are surely more informed about paper than they were before they ate their lunch!
