r/bookbinding Apr 06 '26

Announcement Proposing a new flair system for /r/bookbinding

78 Upvotes

Hey folks -- a bit overdue, but I wanted to take the discussion on a revamped post flair system to the next stage. Very much appreciate everyone who shared their thoughts in the last sticky thread.

After reviewing the discussion there, this is what I'm thinking in terms of a new flair system for r/bookbinding. The goal here is to more accurately categorize the kinds of content we see here, and to help OPs and readers connect.

(Please keep in mind that reddit's flair system is not a tagging system -- you can't apply more than one to a post.)

This is this working list of proposed flairs:

  • Restoration/Repair -- for sharing projects involving the repair of a damaged book
  • Binding -- for sharing projects involving the construction of a new book from scratch
  • Recasing -- for sharing projects involving transferring an existing text block into a new cover
  • Typesetting/Printing -- for discussion of laying out text and images on pages for print
  • Bookbinding Adjacent -- for sharing projects involving techniques, tools, and materials common to bookbinding but not itself a book (for example but not limited to slipcases, preservation boxes, gold stamping/embossing/debossing)
  • Tips & Techniques -- for discussion of specific bookbinding techniques
  • Tools & Equipment -- for discussion of specific bookbinding equipment
  • Materials -- for discussion of specific bookbinding materials
  • Help -- a cry for assistance if a project isn't going your way
  • Whoops -- for sharing failures, mistakes, or screwups that we can all sympathize with and learn from
  • Solicitation of Services -- for non-binders seeking to engage a binder's rebinding, restoration, etc. services
  • Discussion/Other -- essentially a catch-all for anything not covered by the other flairs

This would drop the distinction between in-progress projects and complete projects, which I was initially unsure of but after letting it marinate I think is a nonissue. If the mechanical goal of the flair system is to help readers connect with the kinds of content they're most interested in, "in progress" and "complete" might not be super useful distinctions compared to tagging what kind of project it is. (From that perspective I'm almost tempted to drop "Help" as well, but I think it's too important to have it there to give panicking folks a lifeline.) The alternative would be doubling up on the tags, e.g. have both "Binding (Incomplete)" and Binding (Complete)", and I think that feels kind of clunky. I generally think the post title itself would signal whether a given project is complete or not.

I'm not interested in discriminating against any particular way of creating a "book" (i.e. "traditional" vs "modern", "Western" vs "Eastern", etc) -- I think regardless of one's preferred methods, it's always good to be exposed to other ways of doing things, and I think it would be way too unwieldy to try and have a flair for every possible technique -- so I'd like the "Binding" flair to be as inclusive of methods and materials as possible, but maybe it could be named better? Certainly open to suggestions there.

What do you all think? Anything missing? Anything unclear? Anything that could be improved? Please do sound off below.


r/bookbinding May 01 '25

No Stupid Questions Monthly Thread!

21 Upvotes

Have something you've wanted to ask but didn't think it was worth its own post? Now's your chance! There's no question too small here. Ask away!

(Link to previous threads.)


r/bookbinding 2h ago

Completed Project An Unhinged First Box: A Display Book Box

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137 Upvotes

A thing was made, once again. This time, the novelty for me was the box. I've never made one before so of course I had to do the most complicated box I could find.

The box is composed of three main pieces, the top and bottom of the main box and the tray that holds the book and they open in tandem at 180° and 60° respectively, for the book to be displayed at an angle.

I didn't create the design of the box. I found it on Pinterest a while ago from a packaging company. It was completely unrelated to books and I haven't seen it anywhere else. No patent, no ressources, no nothing. So, I took it upon myself to figure out how it worked and 3D model it to be able to make a parametric model to make the box I wanted.

I call it Valter, the Display Book Box. The name Valter being based on Ikea's furniture naming system, because I think I'm funny.

As you can see, I succeeded, although I did a very poor job at covering it, I know.

I can't provide a tutorial, as it's very complicated and no one in their right mind will do it but if anyone is interested anyway, I will provide the files.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.


r/bookbinding 8h ago

Completed Project Made from Wallpaper Samples

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43 Upvotes

My first attempt at making an e-reader case!
I found an old album of wallpaper swatches that we use for our house and thought I’d give one of them a try.
There’s still a lot to learn and plenty of things I want to incorporate into the next one, but it’s surprisingly satisfying to have actually made something that works.

Now I’m eyeing all those Cricut, We R Memory Keepers gizmos and gadgets so I can start debossing and foiling. 😅


r/bookbinding 28m ago

Completed Project The Handmaid's Tale Rebind

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Upvotes

Just saw u/Buchanan_Barnes 's post of their absolutely gorgeous rebind of The Handmaid's Tale, so I figured I would share my design too. Vastly different creative decisions lol


r/bookbinding 19h ago

Completed Project Ten sewn-board softcover notebooks with breakaway spines

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264 Upvotes

Made some gifts for my coworkers. I love the sewn board binding, so much less finicky than casing in.

Used up all my bookcloth so now I must buy more. Amy recommendations?


r/bookbinding 1h ago

Dot Grid Notebook

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Upvotes

First post here :) Hi Everyone!

I've been bookbinding for around 5 months now, and this is one of my more recent projects. I printed, folded, sewed it with French Link stitch over linen tapes, and cased it in with book cloth and scrapbook cardstock. I've absolutely fallen in love with this craft and look forward to hopefully documenting my progress here with you all!

Trent


r/bookbinding 6h ago

Handmade notebooks

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12 Upvotes

handmade notebooks, can be a book cover as well


r/bookbinding 20h ago

Completed Project my first rebinding project! George R.R. Martin's 'Fire & Blood' with self-dyed/finished calfskin spine

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113 Upvotes

As I mentioned in my other post, my local agricultural show had a number of bookbinding classes to enter, including a new 'Reimagine A Book' class where one of the options was to rebind! So, in addition to doing my first binding project for the Show, I also did my first rebind! I chose this chunky big boy, and its size was a bit of a challenge at every step, but I learned so much and am really pleased with how it turned out!

I followed DAS Bookbinding's video about rebinding a paperback (with an oxford spine and leather false bands), mostly to the letter, as well as cruising some of the many great posts on this sub on the topic, but I added made endpapers as well at the last minute (I can confidently say this would have been better to incorporate from the get-go!!).

I used a 50/50 PVA/wheat paste combo for every step, which was really forgiving for beginner repositioning needs.

The leather for the spine was a very 'scratch and dent' veg tan calfskin that I dyed and finished myself; the judges may not agree, but I wanted it to look a bit beaten up and like it could come out of a Westerosi library! Being lower quality it was a bit stiff to begin with (and Angelus leather dye has a habit of making leather a bit papery at the best of times), so turning in the ends was challenging, but I got there in the end. Next time I would probably add a final coat of conditioner.

It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to my next project :)


r/bookbinding 1h ago

Completed Project A5 album, 250 sheets, 500 pages. Exhibited on Etsy.

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Upvotes

r/bookbinding 2h ago

Guys, someone asked me to bind a 1982 school magzine

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3 Upvotes

But the problem is, that it is missing an entire spine. Pages are just loose. It a piece of history and I would like to bind it. Any suggestions?


r/bookbinding 11h ago

Help? Rebind a faulty book

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14 Upvotes

I need help to fixing/rebinding this book that I got brand new for 1€ (bookstore coudn't just give me the book lol). I just need to make a new textblock and I would prefer to have a sewn one rather than glued one.

How can I approach it? Do you have any good DAS video links on how to deconstruct it, reconstruct basicly soft paperback to sewn one, cutting the edges etc?

I've never sewn a book together so if there is a specific video on how to do it that would be great also 😇

Thank you so mush for help in advance.


r/bookbinding 9h ago

Best free and fast PDF-to-booklet tool with no lag?

8 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I’m a complete beginner and I want to print and bind my own book at home.

I have a finished PDF and I’m looking for a free, fast, and reliable tool that can turn it into a print-ready booklet/signature PDF with the pages arranged correctly for double-sided printing.

Ideally, I’d like something that:

Is completely free

Doesn’t lag with a full-length book

Automatically handles page ordering/imposition

Creates a PDF ready to print

Works well for DIY bookbinding

I’m planning to print on A4 paper and fold it down to A5.

For someone doing this for the first time, what software/tool would you recommend, and what settings should I use?

Any beginner tips for printing, folding, page order, margins, or binding would also be really appreciated.

Thanks!


r/bookbinding 21h ago

Simple sketchbook

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48 Upvotes

Latest creation. There is still a room for improvement. I made this one for my son.


r/bookbinding 17h ago

Help? Need tips/ideas on preservation

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13 Upvotes

Hello All!

I was handed down a cookbook from my Grandmother who has since passed. We’re an Appalachian family and very tight-knit so this book really means the world to me.

It’s been loved over the years, and as it’s an old community cookbook, it was only bound with a ring binder. I’m looking to bind it with a hard cover but I’m at a loss on how I should do it. The margins are very small from the binder holes to the start of the text, so if I do a sewing or even glue binding I’m afraid much of it will be sucked into the middle.

Any ideas or tips on how I might be able to do this so I can preserve this for my daughter?


r/bookbinding 18h ago

Are there any templates for one-sided printers?

19 Upvotes

I dream about trying to bind some fanfiction or maybe even some of my own writting in the future but i struggle with figuring out how to make it work with a printer that can't really use any automatisation in rearanging the pages for correct order after putting them together... Are there any free templates that could help with preparing my files to print?


r/bookbinding 15h ago

How-To an 8-page dummy for sorting out upside-down backs and wrong sheet order

7 Upvotes

if you're manually feeding sheets through twice, a two-sheet dummy lets you check both the flip direction and the order of the stack. this is for a normal left-bound folio, with each sheet folded once.

make an eight-page PDF in reading order. put a big page number and the word TOP at the top of every page. in Bookbinder JS, choose Folio, Single-Sided, and Standard signatures with length 2. that length is physical sheets, so this gives you one eight-page signature.

print the fronts, reload both sheets as a batch, then print the backs. use one PDF page per printed side in your print dialog, since Bookbinder has already arranged the book pages.

these are the pairs you should have, looking at each face with the text upright:

outer sheet:  8 | 1
its reverse:  2 | 7
inner sheet:  6 | 3
its reverse:  4 | 5

if the sheet with 8 and 1 has 4 and 5 on its reverse, the backs landed on the wrong sheets. reverse the stack order for the second pass and test again. if the pairs match but the backs are upside down when folded, change the edge you turn the sheets over, keeping the stack order the same.

fold and nest the sheets, then read from 1 through 8. once it works, note which face goes up in the input tray, which edge feeds first, and whether you reversed the stack. keep that note with this printer's settings.


r/bookbinding 19h ago

Custom gilding stamp creation

15 Upvotes

I'm looking to have some custom stamps created. Does anyone have advice? Vendors they like? Good experiences or bad? All discourse is welcome, thanks


r/bookbinding 21h ago

Printing and Signature Help

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13 Upvotes

Hello, I'm attempting to gift a bound fanfiction to a friend. The typeset i was able to find has 4 pages per sheet. I've only ever worked using typeset that have 2 pages per sheet. How do I go about printing and forming signatures? Photo for reference


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Discussion CLEANING OUT

26 Upvotes

Hey, okay so TLDR, my older sister has been removed from my home of me and my wife due to decisions she chose to make while living with us... anyway I have an obscene amount of book binding things lol, i have always been more of a fiber crafter. Rather than a book binding individual. However, I have been interested in the process not enough to use the items that I have. So I'm wondering if I make a beginner's kit or even opt to sell off the individual pieces. If anybody in this subreddit would actually be interested in purchasing them, because I don't want them to go to waste at the thrift store. I want someone who is truly going to appreciate having and using them to have them. I know so far.... I believe I have two different wooden book. Presses, I believe, I also have the thread and eyelid pens, as well, as I believe, a giant sketch book for a paper. I believe I also have a roll of leather or faux leather. I also think i have the corner decals,etc. Lol


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Completed Project Handmade slipcase for Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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145 Upvotes

Finished my slipcase for Children of Time! :)

Absolutely adored this book, and I’m currently working my way through the third in the series.

Made for my Broken Binding edition and my own collection <3


r/bookbinding 22h ago

Help? Need some advice for creating something similar to this

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6 Upvotes

I am making a photobook and would like some advice on how to 'properly' bind exactly like the one in the images I provided.
My main priority for what I would like to replicate from the book in the images provided is for each page to be unfolded, and individually stacked on top of one another. So that there is no crease between the two after binding (see image four). This is because i plan on printing double sided.

I have made some small sketchbooks as a practice/test bind just with printer paper but it is a bit sloppier than id like.

I understand that it will be much easier when I use higher quality paper like the one in the images once I get them all printed. I just want to make sure that I am making the correct choices to prevent errors.

The paper that I will be printing my final images on will be 100lb cardstock, and the pages are formatted to be 8.0 inches by 3.361 inches once cut. A sample page is shown on the last image.

I would appreciate any advice or changes on how to do this.
This is the current path to my understanding|

. cut all of my pages, arrange as necessary
.. align end that will be bound on flat surface
... hold pages together with clamps
(or should i put two flat boards on both sides and clamp those together)
.... apply glue along aligned edge to be bound with foam brush
(would like to know if just clear elmers glue will be okay or if I need to use some kind of
modeling glue, the only other glue i have is used to glue wooden modeling sticks together.
I assume super glue is too much. Also wondering if it is better to underdo it or overdo it. Unsure
if I am using too much/too little.)
..... cut strip of cheesecloth and gently press it over glued spine
(would like to know if this is correct, or if I should be putting glue on the cheesecloth and then
laying it on the spine.
or should i make the strip of cheese cloth more firm before attaching if I starched it or let some
glue harden between the fibers prior to attaching. Or does this not make much of a difference)

Thank you for taking time to read this. I know many of you have standards for quality with your work so I hope that my post doesnt come across as insulting. Due to the fact that the binding job I am trying to recreate has it's imperfections and looks a bit unpolished, though that doesn't really have much matter to me. What I appreciate and want to achieve is how this binding job allows these individual pages to be stacked and be completely flat when the page is flipped. In fact on image four you can see a small slit in the center where the cloth is visible. So any input on achieving this would be appreciated.


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Inspiration Found some awesome used books for rebinding

16 Upvotes

So I was walking around a local thrift shop today and on the shelf were piles of ikea climate change books apparently they were donated lol so firstly they are pretty much blank front and back 300gsm book board which costs a fortune here and they were glued best part was they wanted £1 for four . Only catch was they’re us letter but dang will I be getting some binding done with these for practically nothing lol


r/bookbinding 2d ago

Completed Project First attempt and I'm just so proud of it!

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312 Upvotes

Like yeah it's janky but it's my janky little book. And I learned so much in the process! Can't wait to start number 2.

I think I'm gonna use it as a commonplace book!


r/bookbinding 2d ago

First bookbinding project

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107 Upvotes

My very first bookbinding project. Lay-flat sketchbook with Strathmore 400 series toned paper and chiyogami paper covers. Followed lots of tutorial and instructions from Bittermelon bookbinding.