What does it mean for a printing house to be born from protest?
How has the politics of printing changed in the digital age?
And what responsibilities come with producing books today?
I spoke with Jochem Öfner, Director of Printing at Drukkerij Raddraaier, for a new episode of Book Making as an Art Form.
Based in Amsterdam, Drukkerij Raddraaier was founded in the late 1970s during the Dutch squatting movement, part of a network of activist print shops producing books, pamphlets, posters, and political materials when mainstream printers would not.
In our conversation, Jochem traces this history alongside his own journey into print: from growing up around books through his mother’s work in art history, to travelling to Central America with revolutionary ambitions, and eventually finding his place in the print shop.
But this episode is not only about the past.
We also speak about how the meaning of freedom of press has shifted since the arrival of the Internet, and how questions once tied to print now play out across digital platforms instead.
Alongside this sits another pressing conversation: sustainability.
Jochem reflects openly on the contradictions of sustainable printing; the tension between environmental responsibility, economic survival, and the often overlooked material costs of digital culture.
At the centre of it all is a commitment to keeping independent production alive: small-scale, thoughtful, and accessible.
A conversation about activism, making, and the politics embedded in every printed page.
🎧 Tune in from 5th May
Photography for the books you make
A book’s life beyond its print run also depends on how people first encounter it, including through the photographs that introduce it online.
Alongside hosting Book Making as an Art Form, I photograph books for publishers, designers, artists and cultural institutions, showing the paper, binding and details that make each publication distinctive.
For those publishing several titles each year, The Book Photographer Circle offers an ongoing photography partnership built around your publishing programme.
Explore publisher partnerships
