Hayco Van Gaal starts a new professional life with RPI Print

In this conversation, Morton from INKISH speaks with Hayco, who has just concluded a remarkable 26-year journey at Canon EMEA. After more than two decades helping shape Canon’s commercial print direction, he begins an exciting new chapter at RPI on Monday.

Hayco reflects on the emotional challenge of leaving Canon — a company that has been central to his identity for over half his life — and the colleagues who became close partners throughout his career.

He introduces RPI, a global leader with more than 500 employees and production sites in Seattle, Rochester, Atlanta, and Eindhoven. The company specializes in:

High-end white-label production of personalized photo products, including photobooks for major brands

Self-publishing platforms like Blurb and MagCloud supporting creators who want to design, sell, and distribute books and magazines

He explains that while creating one photobook is easy, producing thousands every day — with consistent routing, quality, traceability, and fast delivery — is highly complex. Only a small number of companies worldwide can do this at scale. Hayco was especially impressed by RPI’s investment in workflow, automation, IT, and APIs, designed to make customer integration efficient and straightforward.

In his new role as head of European sales, Hayco will support existing global customers, explore new opportunities, and drive diversification. Because photobooks are highly seasonal, he sees big potential in using RPI’s production capacity for other applications outside peak periods.

As ordering moves increasingly online, printers must act more like IT companies — and strong PSP/OEM partnerships become essential. Morton notes that RPI’s focus on personalization, waste reduction, and sustainability positions the business well for the future — a point Hayco fully agrees with.

He also shares that RPI works with multiple OEMs, including Canon and HP, and highlights sustainability as a key focus area.

Hayco feels a strong cultural and personal fit with RPI and looks forward to staying close to the industry. He confirms he will attend the NON-EVENT in January.