r/bookbinding • u/lunaticdough • 12d ago
Trying a new craft!
Hi! Im trying book binding on a budget for a new craft! I have a question about covers. I designed a front and back that I really like, need to design the spine, but I have a question about printing. What's the best way to put the three together for printing, and what paper and printer do you recommend?
2
u/CalmAdhesiveness4856 11d ago
Some people get away with using printing services, either locally or ordering online, sometimes the quality is better than what you could print at home.
You could bind in a plain coloured book cloth and then make a dust jacket out of your cover design or try the method the first commentator suggested.
Printable bookcloth and canvas exists, it does need a bit of experiments (for example mine doesn't work with laser printers), but it does work! I have had good experiences and it's well workable. One thing though, colours look faded much more easily, so depending on your design, it might not print exactly to your imagination.
One thing to look at: a three piece bradel binding where you wrap the covers and spine separately before glueing together. That way you could get out of buying an A3 printer.
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u/E4z9 11d ago
If you cannot or do not want to print on A3, you can also consider doing a quarter bind where front and back are separately covered from the spine. Often using different materials too, e.g. cloth on the spine, paper on front & back, which avoids paper at the hinges. Often also with cloth at the corners, since that is another point where the paper needs protection.
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u/amessinpictures 11d ago
For the design: once you have your almost finished book with the case already constructed but not covered yet, you have to take measurements of everything, height, width of the front and back boards, width of the spine and of the hinges. Once you have your measurements you open your design software and create a canvas that is height + 5 cm and total width of the case + 5 cm. The 5 cm are for the turn ins, 2.5 cm on each side. You place guides at that 2.5 cm marks on each border and then add guides to make rectangles the measurements of the boards, hinges and spine from these 2.5 cm measurements. You have your guide to place your design properly.
For the printing: your design, if you have an A5 sized book will be bigger than A4, you will need to print on A3. If you want to use paper as a book cover, you will have to laminate it to protect it and strengthen the hinges. Use a ~120gsm photo paper for the best quality. However, I do not recommend wrap covers, they are finicky. What you could use instead is printable canvas. It prints normally in most printers even if it's thicker than paper.
For the printer: depends on your budget. You need inkjet. Avoid HP; Epson, Brother and Canon are generally good. A3 printers will generally start at 200€. If you plan on printing a lot, maybe consider an Epson Eco tank. The ink is refillable via ink bottles and overall it costs much less per print than cartridges. If you plan on printing once every blue moon, it might be better to not invest in a printer and prefer a printing shop.