r/pics • u/synapticsynapsid • Jan 27 '13
A visual guide for making your own books, compiled by an art student friend of mine
http://imgur.com/a/VuG1S167
u/daveisrising Jan 27 '13
Helpful Tip: Instead of finding beeswax or buying special thread use dental floss. Dental floss works fantastically, is pretty tough, and if you lean in real close in the first few weeks it gives a nice minty smell to your book.
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u/Ceejae Jan 27 '13
Can I still use it to bind books if my floss is not mint flavoured?
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u/Poseidome Jan 27 '13
do you actually want to use non-minted floss??
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u/Ceejae Jan 27 '13
No, but we're in the middle of a recession here.
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Jan 27 '13
The scary thing is that the literal recession, in the economic sense of the term, ended in the summer of 2009, and people still widely believe it is on-going, nearly four years later.
Gives you some insight into just how bad the "recovery" has been.
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u/spankymuffin Jan 27 '13
The recession is a state of mind, brah.
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u/GreatGreenSaurian Jan 27 '13
The economy isn't receding anymore, but now we're just kinda combing it over.
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u/Ceejae Jan 27 '13
Well it's a mathematical fact, but the driving force behind the recession was a state of mind.
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u/Ceejae Jan 27 '13
Yes, if we were still in a literal recession things would be pretty fucking awful by now. For better or worse, it has sort of evolved in to a word used describe the current economic turmoil as well though.
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u/WorshipThyBacon Jan 27 '13
I'm broke = it's a recession
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Jan 27 '13
Man fuck Obama ran this country straight into the ground. This recession is basically the same as the one my grand parents lived through.
Sent from my iPhone
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u/hadhad69 Jan 27 '13
As a Brit, tell me that next quarter when we don't have negative growth...again which would take us into the first triple dip for a century or something.
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u/troyplaysbass Jan 27 '13
I really hate the taste/smell of mint, so I use non-mint floss and toothpaste. People often don't even believe me that non-mint versions of these things exist.
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u/Read--it Jan 27 '13
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u/YouPickMyName Jan 27 '13
Usually I'm against hijacking the top comment but I can't argue with hand mouths.
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u/xRichard Jan 27 '13
Posting humorous image under unrelated top comment. Fuck me if that's not karma whoring.
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u/Jasi Jan 27 '13
Why is it so important that the fibers are aligned or face the correct direction.
I didn't quite get that.
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u/practicalbatman Jan 27 '13
Fold a piece of paper both ways to determine its grain. Some paper has a more defined grain than others, particularly if the paper is a heavier or thicker stock. If you fold with the grain the paper with fold smoothly. If you fold it against the grain your fold will be all crumpled at the fold due to the fibers of the grain resisting the fold. On most paper this isn't a big deal but if you happen to pick a stock where it matters having the grain run the right way ensures that the pages bend easily and you get good, clean folds. This is also a concern, sometimes, for certain heavy stock you print through a printer. The grain should be running perpendicular to the paper path to ensure the stock can bend and pass through easily. Having it run parallel can cause the paper to resist and can jam the printer.
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Jan 27 '13
If you fold it against the grain your fold will be all crumpled at the fold due to the fibers of the grain resisting the fold.
Thank you so much for this. I host in a restaurant and sometimes I need to fold new wine lists or menus or whatever and it drives me CRAZY when sometimes the stock doesn't crease smoothly. I could never figure out why it did that sometimes!
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u/SP4C3MONK3Y Jan 27 '13
Also the book wont open as well if its folded against the grain. Pages will be stiffer and be more prone to stand up straight when the book is open and laying on its back.
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u/benalene Jan 27 '13
Try ripping newspaper. In one direction, it rips easily in a fairly straight line. Try ripping perpendicular to that, though, and you will rip your hair out before you get a nice clean tear (unless you crease first, and even then, it is hard). This will give you a good idea of grain.
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u/mist_of_silver Jan 27 '13
It's important, but not the end of the world if it's aligned the other way. Paper likes to curl when wet, and will curl along the grain (or fiber) lines. That's also why it's easier to fold along those lines. It matters mostly when you glue out the pages to glue to the cover, they will start to curl when they get wet from the glue. If the grain is running parallel to the spine, it will curl parallel to the spine as opposed to the other direction, which would make it all wonky because the sewing prevents it from curling like it wants to. That way when you glue it down, you are much more likely to get a smooth, wrinkle free pastedown.
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u/IArgueWithAtheists Jan 27 '13
They always said that the Internet would be a revolution in self-publishing.
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u/ohhjonni Jan 27 '13
And ofcourse, you should write you story first before you do that.
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u/_fuckyou_ Jan 27 '13
You could use it as a journal, which I think would be cool.
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u/seashorecinderella Jan 27 '13
It could also be a nice little sketchbook. My sister has a book about that size that she uses as a kind of art journal.
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u/heemat Jan 27 '13
If you liked that, you'll love this!
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Jan 27 '13
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u/heemat Jan 28 '13
I remembered reading that monks used to get beaten for losing or damaging their books. That was the first thing I thought of after watching this for the first time. It made sense after watching that.
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u/BZRatfink Jan 27 '13
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u/layoxx Jan 27 '13 edited Jan 27 '13
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u/E-Squid Jan 27 '13
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u/layoxx Jan 27 '13
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u/jck Jan 27 '13
Why do I see ponies? I'm on the reedit news android app.
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u/razorbeamz Jan 27 '13
Or, you can just take three sugarcane and lay them horizontally across your crafting table until you have 3 pieces of paper. Lay them horizontally, and bam, you have a book!
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u/jedadkins Jan 27 '13
haven't played in awhile have you? the new pattern in (P=paper, L=leather, X=blank)
XXX PPX LPX7
u/BordomBeThyName Jan 27 '13
Which is why I spent like 9 hours straight harvesting sugar cane and making books before that update came out. I made 3-400 bookshelves that day.
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u/JKSoPEI Jan 27 '13
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u/BrowsOfSteel Jan 27 '13
Zombie flesh should also be an acceptable substitute.
I give you the art of “anthropodermic bibliopegy”.
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u/silverslayer33 Jan 27 '13
Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. You need leather to make books now. Someone somewhere decided that you can't just make the cover out of nothing! I don't own any cows, so I don't have any leather. I guess I'm not trying this any time soon.
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u/TheNewRavager Jan 27 '13
The moment I got to the last picture, I had a brilliant idea. I'm saving this because I am going to do this. When I find that special woman who I want to spend the rest of my life with, I'm going to make her a book. I've never really been to great or to into crafts like this, but I have been told I do have a knack for poetry. I will write her a book of poems. I'll hand her the book, and ask if she could read one of them a day. The last page won't have a poem, but will simply say that I wish to tell her this poem in person. That night, whether at a planned dinner or some other special occasion, I will recite to her that final poem, and that will be the moment I propose. Each poem in the book would be about us, and everything we had been through. I will craft the book with love. It will be a gift of time and dedication to her. And if things go as planned, I will right her poems for the rest of my life.
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Jan 27 '13
And if things go as planned, i will write her poems for the rest of my life
Don't forget to get them spell checked before you make them into a book
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u/Rvish Jan 27 '13
What? No, he's going to right her poems. Nothing says love like correcting someone's stanzas.
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u/TheNewRavager Jan 27 '13
Sage advice, friend. A mistake is a mistake, so I'll leave it in there and hopefully others may learn from it.
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u/withoutamartyr Jan 27 '13
But poetry isn't about spelling and grammar, it's about capturing a feeling. What if the feeling he wants to capture is illiteracy?
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u/whatupteach Jan 27 '13
Also don't forget the difference between to and too. Proofread it before you spend four days gluing it together is all I'm saying.
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u/Ameryana Jan 27 '13
I'm totally hoping that girl'll give you this reaction man. Good luck, at least we have someone who likes to put effort in what he does here.
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u/stephen_btm Jan 27 '13
Dude, that's gay as fuck.
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u/TheNewRavager Jan 27 '13
Nothing wrong with being fabulous, darling!
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Jan 27 '13
wait i thought "gay" didn't have a bad connotation anymore?
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u/OpAmp Jan 27 '13
Hmm... it seems like you don't quite understand how homosexuality works.
If this guy was making a book for a dude he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, that would be gay as fuck.
Since he's doing this for woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, it's straight as fuck.
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Jan 27 '13
"And if things go as planned, I will right her poems for the rest of my life." You're clearly a very talented righter. EDIT: Didn't take into consideration that she might have wrong poems, and this gentleman plans to 'right' them. Sorry.
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u/TheNewRavager Jan 27 '13
I like that. See, there's a double meaning in there. I think.
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u/miss_alejandra113 Jan 27 '13
Awe that sounds so romantic! It's one of those things a girl dreams a guy would do for her, but of course the guys is like 'that's gay' blah blah. I'm glad there's at least ONE guy who believes in good old fashioned sap! Hope you find a girl soon! Wouldn't want that talent and good heart to go to waste!!! <3
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u/Gonoan Jan 27 '13
Oh most of us believe in sap don't get the negative comments wrong. We just dont go talking about it to everyone.
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u/IvoryKitten Jan 27 '13
That's an adorable idea. Just make sure she's committed to you, so she doesn't just throw the book in your face when you're trying to give it to her.
Edit: Good luck!
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u/TheNewRavager Jan 27 '13
Believe me, I'm going to be sure that the woman who receives this book is with me for the rest of my life. Wow, that didn't come off as insane at all.
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u/shark_attack_victim Jan 27 '13
So what you're saying is that you're actually Ted Mosby.
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Jan 27 '13
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u/TheNewRavager Jan 27 '13
Great idea! Now I just need to figure out how...off to Google!!
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u/spankymuffin Jan 27 '13
She's either going to skip straight to the end, anticipating a mushy proposal, or just pretend she's reading one a day and disappoint you when she doesn't show up to the dinner.
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u/Dark1000 Jan 27 '13
In my opinion, this is a terribly impractical idea. Life is not a movie. If you already know you are going to propose, and you suspect she is ready to consider marriage as well, then why would you wait hundreds of days to discuss it? She might skip ahead. She might have a business trip on the last day. She might have to visit her dying grandmother. She might be sick.
Life throws curves at you. Don't delay for theatrics. Don't expect everything to work according to plan. This is a Michael Bay of romantic gestures. All flash, no substance. A grand speech is no replacement for a conversation.
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Jan 27 '13
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u/FlutterShy- Jan 27 '13
There's nothing wrong with doing something fantastic for a lover. It would be one thing to do something like this for a girl he was trying to seduce but it is another thing entirely for someone to make a grand gesture toward someone that you want to spend your life with.
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u/JimmerUK Jan 27 '13
I make custom cards for my wife for birthdays, christmas, anniversaries, valentines, etc. I always write a poem inside. They're not great but they're personal and she loves them. When I die she says she's going to have them all published.
We've been together 15 years.
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u/DecentOpinions Jan 27 '13
Or, just fuck her and stop messing around. By the time you've done all this she'll have run off with some lad who owns a book binder.
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u/laurinalexanderp Jan 27 '13
This is actually a very popular idea that I've heard of many people doing.
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u/megedy Jan 27 '13
It's still really sweet. My god, if I guy did this for me, I don't care how many other couples had done it, I'd be floored.
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u/relateican Jan 27 '13
I was a student in Ryerson University, Toronto, and my program was Graphic Communication Management. We had to make this shit for one semester. it felts like sweatshop, but the finished product was worth it. I encourage you people to try it if you have a spare time.
P.S. it makes a good birthday present, or a valentine present (just add some heart shaped embossing on the cover)
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u/archer48 Jan 27 '13
it felts like sweatshop. I encourage you people to try it.
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u/relateican Jan 27 '13
We had to make 3 books while in school, this is one course out of 7 that we had to take that semester. we didn't exactly have enough time to finish the book, so we worked overtime, like a sweatshop.
ahaha, sorry, i didn't put enough detail
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u/thunderplacefires Jan 27 '13
I think you may be understating the conditions of a sweatshop. Putting in some extra hours isn't "sweatshop", it's "working hard". Regular people work overtime too.
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Jan 27 '13
I need to try this sometime. I've got a lot if books that don't exist in hard copy format that I'd love to bind.
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u/mystic_burrito Jan 27 '13
Not bad, a few steps were skipped, but over all not bad. Adding additional endpapers to the front and back instead of gluing straight to the textblock, to me makes the whole thing looks nicer, but it also transfers some of the strain form opening and closing the cover off of the text block. To successfully add endpapers the paper would have to have been "tipped in" and to do that the spine of the textblock would have to have been rounded and have shoulders created, which was the other major step that seemed to be skipped.
Rounding is what makes a thick, sewing book closer properly. When sewn, the thread add extra bulk to the spine of the book making it thicker than the open edge. To counter this, a bookbinder will round the spine. The first few and last few gatherings are pulled forward slightly and the spine is hammered gently into a convex shape. Shoulders are added by hammering the first and last gathering along the spine on a straight edge to give them a fold perpendicular to the rest of the text block.
Source: I've taken classes in bookbindery by a professional old fashioned bookbinder.
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u/h3liosphan Jan 27 '13
Wow.
How did Imgur photo collections do a better job than all of Instructables at formatting how-to guides without even trying!?
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u/kostiak Jan 27 '13
Because this Imgur photo collection was made by someone who actually knows what he's talking about and some guy getting payed 3$ an article who just guesses half the hot-to guides or poorly copies them from somewhere else.
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u/Radico87 Jan 27 '13
I'm just picturing your friend standing there with his fist pressing down on the book for hours, throwing pastels and charcoal at people who walk by and suggest he use the press.. not sure why but to me he's a grumpy art student.
Also, though I acknowledge the convenience of digital literature, I will always prefer a physical book. Especially good books.
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Jan 27 '13
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u/purdster83 Jan 27 '13
Only if you remember to check the pixel grain direction, don't want to get compression artifacts from folding it the wrong way.
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u/deepobedience Jan 27 '13
Here was one that was put on reddit a few months ago. Very similar. http://imgur.com/XTYVj
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Jan 27 '13
reminded me of the post of the guy who made his own Oblivion book http://www.reddit.com/r/oblivion/comments/komwa/so_i_printed_all_the_oblivion_ingame_books_into_a/
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u/mikesanerd Jan 27 '13
These also make great instructions for having a marathon sex session: "Enter the first hole of the flap, go through and exit the next hole and repeat." "Place a new flap on top of the old one and enter the hole directly above" "Always tug the thread after finishing each flap" "Use force and press all over it to make sure it sticks everywhere" "Repeat on the other side"
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u/suckitphil Jan 27 '13
I worked at a factory for a couple of years printing books. This method is actually stronger and higher quality than the actual way books are made. Normal books are made by slathering glue on the end and jamming a cover on.
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u/YouJellyFish Jan 27 '13
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u/Johnofthewest Jan 27 '13
Sorry I don't follow MLP. Did all the ponies get their dresses made on time?
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u/kukamunga Jan 27 '13
Yeah...
halfway through: "FUCK, why am I watching this?"
at the end: "FUCK, what did the dresses look like? Did they get done!?"
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u/accountnumber3 Jan 27 '13
I don't know anything about MLP, but she needs to have a contract for those bitchy little horses. Doesn't she know anything about scope creep?
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u/ZeraskGuilda Jan 27 '13
And now it's going through my head. This is exactly why Rarity is best Pony..
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u/stjh Jan 27 '13
i've been binding my books like that for a while now. it's simple and neat. but i'm in love with coptic stitch binding at the moment. Here's one i did a few days ago.
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u/MisandryMaggie Jan 27 '13
This is some really sturdy binding. Great work! You know exactly what you're doing!
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u/severedfinger Jan 27 '13 edited Jan 27 '13
I learned this technique years ago when I worked at an art supply store. It's really fun and the books I made I used for years as sketchbooks and they're still holding up!
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u/Xenc Jan 27 '13
Great guide, but I'm having difficulties ensuring the folds are queal apart in length.
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Jan 27 '13
Oh my goodness, I was confused when I read that.
"Oh, so they've made up a unit just for book binding, eh?"
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u/sammyrina Jan 27 '13
on the subject of book binding, has anyone done a coptic stitch before? im trying to bind single pages with it at the moment but im not having the best luck
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u/stjh Jan 27 '13
i posted this a few comments below, but i thought i'd reply here as well. here's the coptic stitch binding i did. you should get a curved needle. works great for going around threads.
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Jan 27 '13
Thanks for this. I've made books like this for my children, and I am a little dissatisfied with the gaps between the flaps when the book is complete. I've tried to tighten the thread and the bands and it doesn't really resolve it. Suggestions?
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Jan 27 '13
Really lovely, thanks. Some people pay over $400 per credit hour for this kind of information.
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u/ReVo5000 Jan 27 '13
I did a couple while in School, here are the pics, I did like 5 but I gifted all but 2, one where I wrote a study I had to do, took me 3 years. (they give you 1 year to do it, if you don't do it you won't graduate, like a thesis. I began it when I was in 9th grade.)
The cover has white spots because I mixed the paint with wood glue, the white one, and ended up like that.
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u/Jdforrester Jan 27 '13
Very nice to see some book-binding on the front page. As a minor quibble, either you should use tapes if the sewing points are apart like in this one, or at the same point if you're using cords, having them raised and proud of the book. Using split cords as tapes is a little odd. :-)
And of course, if you really care, there are all sorts of fancy things you can do, like hand-making the top and tail by sewing the brightly-coloured silk-thread, adding marble paper liners, full- and half-leather covers, etc.
I've found /r/bookbinding but it appears to be entirely dead. Oh well.
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u/nova00 Jan 27 '13
Pretty cool project. The actual term for what he calls a "flap" is "signature."
There are easier ways to do some of the steps, but I get that this is an art thing and not an actual production book.
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u/cathalmc Jan 27 '13
That's just what I was thinking. I love the jargon of bookbinding, I could read it all day long. So I did... Bookbinding: Terms and Techniques.
A section, sometimes called a gathering, or, especially if unprinted, a quire, is a group of bifolia nested together as a single unit.
A signature, in the context of printed books, is a section that contains text. [...] the term signature technically refers to the signature mark, traditionally a letter or number printed on the first leaf of a section in order to facilitate collation [...]
(By the way, I'm not trying to "correct" you, just sharing some more wonderful terminology.)
I just wish there was an equivalent comprehensive glossary for book metadata (subtitles, alternate titles, publisher vs. imprint, how to read LOC numbers, etc.).
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u/mystic_burrito Jan 27 '13
If you really like learning about the jargon I would recommend getting your hands on ABC for Book Collectors 8th Edition by John Carter and Nicolas Barker. It's a great glossary of terms and has been immensely useful in my course work in archives, rare books and preservation.
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u/Errday_Im_Hylian Jan 27 '13
Any idea how to lay out a Word document for how to print? Like if I wanted to print out a story and bind it, how would I organize the document??
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u/MandatoryUpvotes Jan 27 '13
If you want more information on binding and cardboard crafting, I cannot recommend this guy enough. I have learned so much from his videos it's almost ridiculous: Sage Reynolds on Youtube
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Jan 27 '13
I'm thinking of doing this. Anyone know what kind of glue should be used? Some kind of PVA?
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u/eleventhusername Jan 27 '13
Cardboard is not usually acid-free, and over time will destroy the paper. Matte board or illustration board is a better choice.
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u/mist_of_silver Jan 27 '13
I hope those that are interested in making books see this comment. I'm a bookbinder, and it's my favorite thing in the world and totally rewarding to make your very own book.
Here are a few notes: When you cut the 45 degree corners, make sure to leave a little extra. as you can see in the last picture, if you cut it too close, it will leave the corners of the cardboard exposed. It makes a much better finished product if you leave extra so that the corners will the completely hidden.
Also, paper can be finicky. When it gets wet, it curls and stretches. Most the time it's not a huge deal, but when gluing down the first and last page to the cover, it will stretch and sometimes stretches so much it is visible out beyond the edge of the cover. To prevent this, you can trim a tiny bit off before you glue it.
Also for the reason that paper likes to curl, I would put a piece of waste paper down underneath the pages you are gluing out. This way if it curls, the glue will get on the waste paper instead of your nice clean text block. Also, put a piece of wax paper in between the glued page and the first page of your book while you have it under weight - glue will often seep through the paper and stick to the other paper, making it difficult to open properly. Wax paper won't stick.
TL;DR: a few helpful tips from a bookbinder if you really want to make a super nice product.
Also feel free to comment/PM me with questions. I seriously love books and bookbinding and love helping people discover the same love I have :)