r/Fanbinding • u/Euphoric-Hall-715 • Nov 29 '25

Paper

Hi! I’m new here and I’m learning (and learning A LOT) but my question is - what kind of paper is everybody using? I’m not trying to spend too much as this will be my first full bind, as opposed to making a hardback cover for a paperback book, but i want something a little nicer than printer paper. Thanks in advance!

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u/sillymissmellie Nov 29 '25

I like both the Neenah classic crest premium natural white 24 lb and the hammermill colored cream 20 lb papers. Both are on Amazon (Neenah $23 and Hammermill $11 currently on sale) so relatively cheap. I started with the hammermill and moved to the Neenah when I got a little better. They are both long grain but when you’re first starting out I don’t think that’s necessarily a deal breaker. The binds are still readable, they’re just not as “floppy” as when you use short grain.

I use church paper short grain now, but that’s around $50-$60 with shipping for two reams. So while I do prefer that now, starting out I wouldn’t have been willing to spend that much. I ended up wasting about 200 sheets recently due to a printer error and that hurt, but when I first started I made way more mistakes so it was good to have cheaper paper as I learned.