Book binding - Along with the related crafts of calligraphy and stamping.

[Lurk McDurk]

We were required to print / cut / bind modern materials into a traditional book as part of an undergrad medieval lit course I took in college.

Medieval paper I'm sure you're aware by now isn't paper, it's animal skin stretched paper thin, so not as absorbent. I would think you can buy paper with some sort of coating to help control the ink until the ink has set?

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

I have a few PDFs that are not writings that were ever printed and sold. Plus I have a few PDFs of very rare books that are extremely expensive to buy. And I hear that book binding isn't super difficult.

But I want to see if anyone here has experience in this craft before I try to figure it out myself. Bump!

I have found stuff like this: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-bind-your-own-Hardback-Book/

But I would really like to talk to someone and get first-hand experience.

 

[drfuzzyballs]

I have a few PDFs that are not writings that were ever printed and sold. Plus I have a few PDFs of very rare books that are extremely expensive to buy. And I hear that book binding isn't super difficult.

But I want to see if anyone here has experience in this craft before I try to figure it out myself. Bump!

I have found stuff like this: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-bind-your-own-Hardback-Book/

But I would really like to talk to someone and get first-hand experience.

I never finished that project but have bound plenty of blank notebooks in the fashion of that link. You just need an awl, a big needle and some sturdy string. For the cover I always used denim from old jeans.

 

[Dammit Mandrake!]

I never finished that project but have bound plenty of blank notebooks in the fashion of that link. You just need an awl, a big needle and some sturdy string. For the cover I always used denim from old jeans.

Am I correct in assuming that the string is a stand-in for stapling the pages together and that you "sew" them into the proper form?

 

[drfuzzyballs]

Am I correct in assuming that the string is a stand-in for stapling the pages together and that you "sew" them into the proper form?

It's stronger than stapling, Poke an odd number of holes at every centimeter or so with the awl and sew a group of 8 sheets together, repeat that process several times, tie and glue the ends of the strings to make the pages.

 

[Kit Marz]

I have a few PDFs that are not writings that were ever printed and sold. Plus I have a few PDFs of very rare books that are extremely expensive to buy. And I hear that book binding isn't super difficult.

But I want to see if anyone here has experience in this craft before I try to figure it out myself. Bump!

I have found stuff like this: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-bind-your-own-Hardback-Book/

But I would really like to talk to someone and get first-hand experience.

I have bound many books, it's really very easy. It's mainly just sewing pages together. This and This are great video guides on how to get the pages ready and how to sew and create a hard cover.

If you already have PDF docs of the books. Booklet Creator is an amazing program that will allow you to organize the pages correctly with absolutely no effort. I've used it many times and it takes a ton of the stress out of making sure things stay in order

If you become more serious about it, then a guillotine cutter and a cricut to help make designs for the books go a long way of making it look nice

 

[Free4Ever]

I have bound many books, it's really very easy. It's mainly just sewing pages together. This and This are great video guides on how to get the pages ready and how to sew and create a hard cover.

If you already have PDF docs of the books. Booklet Creator is an amazing program that will allow you to organize the pages correctly with absolutely no effort. I've used it many times and it takes a ton of the stress out of making sure things stay in order

If you become more serious about it, then a guillotine cutter and a cricut to help make designs for the books go a long way of making it look nice

Can you comment on the cutting ("page-edge trimming") that mass-printers do?
Can a guillotine cutter really do that or did you mean something else?

 

[Kit Marz]

Can you comment on the cutting ("page-edge trimming") that mass-printers do?
Can a guillotine cutter really do that or did you mean something else?

I just use my home laser printer that doesn't have a trimming feature. I cut 11x17 pages in half to get 8.5x11 paper with the guillotine cutter. This allows the grain to be in the correct direction. Then I print it so that each signature is 4 four pieces of paper. When I've finished sorting and folding the paper in half and I have my signatures, I then give a final trim to each signature one at a time in the guillotine cutter. It's not the quickest process, but it works and the materials needed are fairly cheap and common. With each signature only being four pieces of paper, but really 8 pieces since it's folded over, a guillotine cutter can easily handle it.

When it's all sewn together, you can put it in a press and sand it down with a low grit sandpaper. This is especially needed if you want to gild the edges with gold as you need a mirror like finish. I usually use 28 to 32 lbs paper for my books.

Apologies that I can't shed more light on page edge trimming and how to set it up correctly

 

[Free4Ever]

I just use my home laser printer that doesn't have a trimming feature. I cut 11x17 pages in half to get 8.5x11 paper with the guillotine cutter. This allows the grain to be in the correct direction. Then I print it so that each signature is 4 four pieces of paper. When I've finished sorting and folding the paper in half and I have my signatures, I then give a final trim to each signature one at a time in the guillotine cutter. It's not the quickest process, but it works and the materials needed are fairly cheap and common. With each signature only being four pieces of paper, but really 8 pieces since it's folded over, a guillotine cutter can easily handle it.

Ah sorry, I didn't word that clearly. I meant the trimming done on an almost-bound book's edges, to make the page edges line up and give the three exposed paper sides a smoother appearance - like what you do with the signature but for the whole book.

When it's all sewn together, you can put it in a press and sand it down with a low grit sandpaper. This is especially needed if you want to gild the edges with gold as you need a mirror like finish. I usually use 28 to 32 lbs paper for my books.

Apologies that I can't shed more light on page edge trimming and how to set it up correctly

Ah, that's what I was missing. I thought they were cutting the sides with a special saw but a sanding makes much more sense.
I'm gonna do some background reading and look into what printers are available to me, thanks for the info.

 

[Kit Marz]

Ah sorry, I didn't word that clearly. I meant the trimming done on an almost-bound book's edges, to make the page edges line up and give the three exposed paper sides a smoother appearance - like what you do with the signature but for the whole book.

Ah, that's what I was missing. I thought they were cutting the sides with a special saw but a sanding makes much more sense.
I'm gonna do some background reading and look into what printers are available to me, thanks for the info.

You're welcome! And as long as you've made the holes line up for sewing each signature and trimming them to the same size, it should be mostly lined up. That extra sanding can help it out a lot.

 

[Free4Ever]

You're welcome! And as long as you've made the holes line up for sewing each signature and trimming them to the same size, it should be mostly lined up. That extra sanding can help it out a lot.

I think I'll have little trouble with the actual handiwork... I just need to get over the fact that I'll need an A3 printer, or find someone to do it for me, if I want to make Big Books. And not get bogged down on trying to make a Perfect First Book.

 

[Kit Marz]

I think I'll have little trouble with the actual handiwork... I just need to get over the fact that I'll need an A3 printer, or find someone to do it for me, if I want to make Big Books. And not get bogged down on trying to make a Perfect First Book.

That is definitely that hardest part. My first one is all wonky and I used the wrong kind of leather so it got pretty hard and is starting to crack, but the more you do it the better and easier it gets. If you do use leather, goat and lamb are great and cheap options. It stays soft and flexible without effort, unlike cow. A high quality pva glue is also important. I really like lineco glue

 

[Lord Xenu]

But I want to see if anyone here has experience in this craft before I try to figure it out myself. Bump!

IDK if this counts, but I bought an electronic device thats not available anymore. It originally came with a 130-ish page manual. There was a pdf manual available online & I used the booklet program mentioned above to get the pages and covers in order. Then I went to Staples and they printed and bound the book for about $15 or so.
I chose notebook ring bindings so i could fold the pages flat, and color magazine type paper, but they had a bunch of other binding, cover, and paper options. If youre just trying to print some books, rather than make art, that might be worth looking at.

 

[Free4Ever]

IDK if this counts, but I bought an electronic device thats not available anymore. It originally came with a 130-ish page manual. There was a pdf manual available online & I used the booklet program mentioned above to get the pages and covers in order. Then I went to Staples and they printed and bound the book for about $15 or so.
I chose notebook ring bindings so i could fold the pages flat, and color magazine type paper, but they had a bunch of other binding, cover, and paper options. If youre just trying to print some books, rather than make art, that might be worth looking at.

Sounds like they did a many-hole perforator + ring binder spine combo? Good one, that's really cheap and easy.