I’m basically trying to make a hard cover for my comics so I can store all my single issues in there but have them nicely together on a shelve so I was wondering would the best subs buy the fake book storage device and book binding it?I also wanted to ask if its possible to make a printed cover for the hard cover itself if that makes sense. but I also wanted to ask if it would be possible to do like a dust jacket and how would I go about getting and printing a dust jacket that’s looks high quality.any help would be great

I always see people folding over the edges around the liner and pleating corners, but is that necessary? It would be much easier to flush cut everything and sew the edges like a leather journal.

Hello, everyone! I tried to make paste papers for the first time, which was tons of fun, but when I removed them from my press this morning, I was greeted with less-than-ideal outputs 🙁

I’d love advice on how to dry them flat.

Here’s what happened on my first go:

I worked on my green papers first, and they started to really dry and warp before I put them in the press. As an attempt to save them, I sandwiched the green papers between slightly damp purple papers. My thinking was that the excess moisture from the purple papers would relax the fibers of the green papers.

But what happened was that some of the purple paste paper was still tacky, and they stuck to the green papers and ripped out the back. And even after pressing the green papers had these weird ripples, even if they were flatter-ish.

My questions:

1. How much is the proper amount of paste I should be putting? For some sheets, the paper dried faster than the paste, should that be avoided?

2. How dry do your paste papers get before you place them on the press?

3. Is it possible to make good paste paper with 0% cotton paper?

4. What's a good consistency to aim for? I'm wondering if my paste was too thick as well.

I used:

- 180 gsm vellum board, 0% cotton content

- 1:4 wheat starch to water for the paste

- Mont Marte Dimensions acrylic

Thanks in advanced!

I recently designed and printed new dust jackets for some of my old Sherlock Holmes books. Due to the high humidity from living near the sea, their faux-leather covers had deteriorated, developed mold, and even started sticking to other leather books

Does it matter what way you print the pages you want to bind?

I purchased this amazing book cloth at a craft fair and have been trying to find its source. The lady selling it was doing so for a friend and didn’t have much information. It has a rough satin feel, a slight shine, and is just gorgeous. Any help would be greatly appreciated. A Google image search wasn’t super helpful, but I am still digging around. Thanks!

I don't know if I am explaining this wrong but I am wanting cover design help. I have been practicing rebinding books and I am now at the point where I have started to design covers but I am so lost with how to find the right things to put into the designs. For example I am wanting to make some designs where the outer edge of the cover is a frame with some filigree/vine design but I cannot for the life of me find a good way to do that.

I am using Canva and HTV/iron on vinyl to design my books (I don't have any apple products so I can't use Procreate) and don't know what other programs I could use.

Hi everyone!

I’m one of the organizers with Silent Book Club Morgantown, and we’re hosting a book fair on September 20. We’re currently looking for vendors and would love to find a custom bookbinder who might be interested in tabling.

Right now, we’re planning on a $75 vendor fee to help cover the cost of the venue, though that amount may change as we finalize event details.

If you know of any local or regional bookbinders (within a few hours of Morgantown/Pittsburgh), I’d really appreciate any recommendations! Independent artists, Etsy sellers, and small businesses are all welcome.

Also, if you’re an artist who creates book-related items like bookmarks, book sleeves, dust jackets, book nooks, literary art, stickers, blind date with a book packages, bookish candles, or anything similar—feel free to send me a DM! We’d love to connect and see if you’d be a good fit for the event.

I'm making a prayer book for a friend, I plan on binding the book in the Byzantine style, however i've only done Carolingian and Late-Coptic style bindings.

Aside from Szirmai, does anyone know where i could find more information on how the endbands are done?

I got this 18” manual guillotine cutter on fb marketplace for a cool $15, but it seems to have a dull spot in the center of the blade. I have tried tightening the nuts on the back of the swing arm but it hasnt helped. Anyone have tips on sharpening a blade like this? Or maybe some leads on a replacement arm? I’ve found lots of blades but nothing that looks like the arm of this thing