I've been noticing bookbinding has been growing in popularity as of late. Part of me noticing is from the massive deluge of really bad and remarkably dunce questions - and I don't mean from the "this person is new but totally interested in learning the ropes and doing the work", I mean from the "Can I BiNd FaN-FicTioN? Is ThAT LeGAl?" crowd - that seems to regularly get presented as if they are the newest and hardest questions on the planet. Some want a spoon fed experience, which, in bookbinding, doesn't exist since actual work is involved. Others seem to confuse hand-binders for machine binding and somehow think hand-binding is cheaper (it isn't, I once bound a junk book for $60 and that was for a friend (she insisted to pay me, I tend to bind for free for friends) - that book would have been $220 for anyone else. Low end.) Even on my Library of Congress post someone literally asked in the comments if they could send a handbound book for their LCCN verification 🙃 Y'know, instead of a regular, machine bound book that shows the book is real and can be bought in a store or rented in a library.
Lol wut?
Others kind of are stuck in this "blind leading the blind" loop, where they amass all this product (great if your name happens to be "Amazon", crappy for everything else), spit out all these rules that seem to show off novice behavior but parades as pro knowledge, etc etc.
I've been bookbinding since 2007, I taught myself from a Gutenberg packet bought at a Blick Art Store because I wanted to make an interesting gift for Ryu of hip hop group Styles of Beyond.
They were part of Mike Shinoda's side project away from Linkin Park, Fort Minor. I went to see a show at Nation (crappy venue in D.C., so glad it is gone), where I had meet and greet with the folks of Fort Minor. I gave the journal to Ryu - but Shinoda thought it was for him and green eye envied it for the rest of the night. Reminded me of Golem from Lord of the Rings, just short of a "My precioussssss" hiss. That dropped the penny in my head that I might be good at this. I joke that the journal actually is at Shinoda's house, just buried under some art books.
And I've been bookbinding since. I also made Shinoda a journal of his own:
The toothy scribble is something drawn by Shinoda, but vectored and 3d printed by me - it also glows (if I remember correctly).
I gave that to Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. to give to Shinoda after missing him at a show. Sonny had the same, brief green eye Shinoda did before I told him where it was going to. That journal is probably sitting next to a small collection of bibles in Sonny's house. Sonny also has a journal of his own now.
The journals I write in and plan my works in are handbound. I already wrote about that here.
I also work in the field of preservation and archives, which means I regularly look at stuff to do with bookbinding and things like that, even on a professional level.
(Great time to remind everyone that the field looks as White as it does not because of lack of interest from archivists and bookbinders of color - it's because they don't want us there, period. They'll complain the field is dying but it isn't, they're just killing it instead of risking actual diversification because keep in mind, history is remembered based on who preserves it. Probably sounds wild until you remember that racism, including anti-Blackness, is so good at short-circuiting logic it will start making someone think Haitian immigrants are actually eating dogs and cats and somehow think they do not need a head doctor.)
I also have 3D printed designs I've made of bookbinding supplies, which I used to sell on my online store but shut down for the pandemic, but will eventually reopen after I upgrade my 3D printer.
An awl guide and cradle I designed and 3D printed
So, it's pretty short to say I know my way around bookbinding. I have repaired books, built books from scratch, etc. I also write books (hence this website), and written those books in journals I made from scratch, my skeleton journals.
I saw a video from a booktuber who is pretty brand new to bookbinding. I sat through the half hour vid and it led me to make this unfortunately long comment (I didn't even know comments could be posted this long 🤷🏿♀️. The more you know 🌠):
Hi, I'm a self-taught Black bookbinder with almost 20 years of bookbinding experience and work in archives, gotta interject a bit. Super long comment ahead
- A re-bind's official name is "re-casing". The outer part of the book is called a "case". Also, an unfolded piece of paper is a "folio".
- The inner flappy black paper is called "flyleaf". Also an amazing band
- You don't need a duplex printer. If it prints on one side only, just get Booklet Creator 2 or BlueSquirrel, which are about $20 for a forever license. If it prints, it fits
- Don't make a store front to sell supplies unless you are personally inventing them. I designed a 3d printed punching set and corner cutters for my currently closed Etsy store, the Black Witch Shoppe. There are actual bindery supply stores filled with professional materials ran by people who know what they're doing, such as Hollander & Lineco. Please don't glut the field for a quick buck. For those who can't drop major coin, that's what art stores like Blick is for, where they sell Gutenberg book binding kits that have everything (including a guide) but the glue. Super duper broke? Dollar store and office supply store.
- I have the same Epson EcoTank (mine is in black), it will easily handle anything you throw at it. I have printed journals for me to write books in, journals for me to keep track of my fountain pen ink collection in, the user guide for my VR headset, and my own printed written works. Laser is nice but if you're just making stuff for you, inkjet is fine and the Epson EcoTank alone can handle it fine. It's affordable and does the job.
- $52? Wow, ChurchPaper saw you coming lol. They are slowly becoming the Surfshark VPN of the bookbinding world - you see em everywhere. They're in all my bookbinding groups, I think. You could have gone to Staples or any office supply store and simply stared at the info on the side of the box such as gsm and things like that. A 500 pg pack of Southworth would have been massively cheaper and still have quality. Bookbinding isn't a pricy hobby, nor is it a hobby where spending the most makes you the winner. It depends on skill, not how good someone is at throwing down cash. Besides, if you're new, you should hold off on the expensive stuff until you learn more.
- Art stores have bookboard, like Blick. You don't have to break the bank for bookboard/chipboard, esp if you're new.
- Used cardboard works just fine as a cutting mat. It just has to be flat and protect your surface. I don't own a mat, just I use a paper slicer/slide guillotine and cardboard.
- You need PVA glue, you're holding up PVA glue, the "neutral PH glue". Regular glue, like Elmer glue, is in the family of PVA glue, just meant for paste-eating school children. Works in a pinch and will still hold throughout the years but PVA is the standard because it's designed for bookbinding, not simply slapping something together involving paper (such as macaroni on a paper plate, paper crafts glued together, glitter, etc) by a six year old on a sugar bender. Glue stick is also fine as long as it goes on smooth.
- Bone folder is not needed, I've used a guitar pick (my favorite is from Staind, great concert, thick pick). You can use a sturdy ruler if you're in a pinch or even a bank card. The name of the game is the press of the folding. You can also use … your fingers, including your nails (short, long, doesn't matter) to fold. I don't even own a bone folder, actually. I use my hands usually and sometimes a guitar pick.
- The brush shown in the wrapper that you doesn't use … is the traditional bookbinding glue brush, oh geez. The silicone one is nice but yeah. I use a litany of brushes, depending on what is needed at the time, from broad paint brush to teeny detail brushes
- One awl is all you need for personal bookbinding (fnar.)
- That orange slide guillotine, I have the same one. As far as paper cutting, it's about all you need, besides a decent pair of scissors and a pencil.
- You can also stitch your own headbands. Also, headbands are 10000% optional
- 3 printers? They must love wasting money. They could get an laser printer if they are that desperate to spend. If it were a pro bindery, sure but for fanfic just for you? A waste
- Vinyl cutters are not mandatory in bookbinding at the core. You can make covers out of anything. I've cast mine in resin using a mold. And if you're working with gold leaf/shiny anything, just get a single laser printer and iron. I've even used the bottom of a pot that had boiling water, fresh from a stove.
- You're describing a cradle and awl guide. I designed and 3d printed my own. Previously, I used my hands to hold the folded folios together and a folded piece of paper with the punch dots marked out by hand
- Bookbinding is a cheap hobby. I was able to do it at 20 as a broke college student. I'm not too jazzed with new people coming in with inflated unnecessary prices. You have string, needle and paper? You can start bookbinding. I make what I call "skeleton journals" for my writing - it's just paper, string and chipboard covers with the title stenciled in via pen. All the super essentials of what makes a book. I've taught bookbinding at 4-H with just paper, needle and string.
Here's what you actually need if you just want to quickly stitch a book and get it out your system:
- A printer (ANY. Get BlueSquirrel or Booklet Creator software if you want)
- Awl (pref. bulb handle shape to prevent hand pain)
- Cradle (could literally use a box's folding hinge if you're super broke, anything to safely hold a book and stop a needle after it pierces. Or hold it up with your hands and punch (safely!!!!!) hole by hole, using binder clips to keep things in place)
- Awl puncher guide (could be a folded piece of paper with hand scribbled dots on it)
- String. (Any.)
- Needle (preferably curved for easier handling but straight will do just fine. Even sewing needles from the dollar store)
- Paper (to make the text block. You can buy this at any office supply store, I use Southworth resume paper (great for fountain pens, also) but ANY paper pack will do if you're just making it for yourself. As long as the paper is "de-acidified" (won't age fast), you're fine)
- Pencil (to mark stuff)
- If you want to hardcase your book, bookbinder's board, which is simply thick chipboard. If you want to softcase it, you can just saddle stitch, Ethiopian (Coptic) stitch or journal stitch and you're done.
- Whatever you plan to cover the hardcase with. I've even used wrapping paper in a pinch, I just sealed it later with glue or sealant because it's not designed for permanent book covering. SeaLemonDIY, who is here on YouTube, has an excellent guide on how to make bookcloth from scratch so you can use fabric and other materials. I recommend her for those who are visual learners.
Bookbinding is tedious - welcome to how information was made before computers, and this is only the tip of the iceberg - but it isn't expensive to start.
My bookbinding supply store, which is related to my other blog will eventually reopen for anyone interested but the fact of the matter here is with the influx of new people comes an influx of, well, bs. Well meaning bs but bs all the same. And usually it comes down to price. I guess to make the experience seem exclusive and exclusionary? Like it's a product in a store and not a skill that is obtained?
I'm part of some pricier hobbies, such as gothic lolita fashion and virtual reality gaming. Bookbinding is not at all expensive. You don't need to pass a high-jump of a sales tag. But tacking on a major price is a great way to scare people who may not have the dough to spend out of it. Or to seem like you know what you're doing when really you don't know much at all. If you have the super basic materials, you're fine. Everything else is just extra, learn how to actually bind first. The only thing that costs the most is time.
Cheaper materials are your friend in this situation because when you mess up, you do not want to do that on paper that costs an entire mint. You're going to glue wrong. You're going to cut wrong. You're going to mess up. That's how you learn. Messing up on some cheap copy paper is going to hurt a lot less. Unless you're doing a professional bind - not fanfic - you don't need top of the line stuff right away. Focus on nailing down the skill first, then do the "aaaah, go stupid, aaaah, go crazy" bit with the materials.
When I bind my skeleton journals, I also use that as a practice spot for stitching. I prefer to stitch open spine (where you can see the spine, like the journal I made for Shinoda) instead of closed spine (where I just Ethiopian (Coptic) stitch it and call it a day since no one will see it) so I have a variety of stitching styles. I'm not trying to hyper replicate a machine bindery because that will bore the ever livin' daylights out of me and I find the stitching engaging to look at, especially stitches like the Catepillar stitch or Japanese stab binding. Plus, I like the books I make to stand out when I make them for others. Bookbinding is an art so I treat it as such. I can do those closed spine bindings if I'm repairing hardbound books and such but that's repair, not me making stuff for fun.
Also, you don't have to ask authors about whether or not you can bind fanfic. That's really just plain stupid, and I'm saying that as an author. If you're not selling fanfic in any form, you're fine. People are aware that not everything was on computers throughout all of history, right? Books were bound then to store information. That's all it is.
No one is watching you stitch a book. There are way worse copyright issues - actual issues - than picking a ye olde school way to keep paper together. I have printed out fanfic, that's just simply stapled in the corner. The site it was on is gone, the author is nowhere to be seen but I still have the stories and they're well preserved. That's all.
Like I've said in a previous post about fan-fiction and binding, it seems like these new people just want to complicate thing unnecessarily because how else can you look like an expert on something you know so little about? Make up frivolous quandaries! Say you have to do a whole bunch when actually you could do quite little. Bs like that.
There's way more information out there than ever about the topic, bookbinding really isn't that hard or pricy to get into. All you have to know is how to stitch, how to fold and how to glue (which is the tricky part). The rest is extra.
No comments:
Post a Comment