Bookbinding by Hand

[raivenlola00]

Absolutely exceptional. You have just saved me hundreds of dollars. Good job!

[alicmiran]

wow thanks for the video. Just learned something new

[VeeVeeVeeV]

excellent answer!!!

good vid

[Iselsie]

Good point to the user who got bored watching you collate. Bookbinding takes a lot of patience. Good vid

[pickalobob]

great video for do it at home book binding.

[xenepp]

To be perfectly honest, the lack of sound and poor frame-rate got tedious real quick. The text disappeared to quickly too.

That said, this was fascinating and I'm sure I'll employ your methods if/when I get round to completing my own book, thanks!

[semoffett]

When you chose the spacing for the staples, was that some standard spacing or just what you thought would fit best? If there are already spacers on the stapler then what are the pennies there for? Is the glue you used some special paper friendly, acid free type glue, or was it just normal crafting glue sticks? How are the books holding up in terms of durability?

Thanks for the great video!

[serpwidgets]

The spacing was the result of experimenting with different numbers of staples. The pennies are on there because the staples would otherwise go too far from the edge of the paper. The glue is regular craft glue sticks, and they have held up for a year now. :)

[monnie110]

This is a great video. Thanks for putting this up.

[rehuart]

over two minutes of cutting paper made me loose interest.

[Daisytoo]

Spoken words would have been helpful. The parts that were self-explanatory were done slowly; the novel parts sped through. I'm guessing this was a video made for people already skilled in the craft who wanted to learn a new technique. In that case, I'm glad to know it'll be here when I'm ready.

[wholeycrow]

Serp,

Great tutorial, Thanks! I have a question: why cut each sheet individually prior to stapling? Is it a layout issue? Could the book be laid out in such a fashion that you could staple once on the short edge & shear, - & then regroup the cuttings & staple on that short edge? I was thinking that since the shear can handle trimming the entire book cleanly, & the book will be trimmed in the final step, that perhaps the efficiency may be increased...what do you think?

[serpwidgets]

Ya, it's possible to do it that way. As they come out of the printer, every so many copies there will be a page out of order or a pic with bad colors, or other "defects." So the cutting process is also an inspection to make sure the pages are in order and not missing anything. :)

[wholeycrow]

That makes sense, thanks. Another question: do you use any fancy software, or just MS Word for your book layout? I've been looking at Corel, Adobe, & Quark (not that I can afford any), & am wondering the cost/benefits of using one of those programs...will the book really look that much better?

[serpwidgets]

Just MS Word here.

[kbelani]

thanks man now I am making hme made books and this method is one of the best but I cant afford a heavy duty cut paper, I will buy one who cut around 20 sheets.. I have a question I am making my own covers with my printer but I would like to know what machine is used for cover the book cover, I mean the book covers have a plastic layer wich is protecting the printed cover it makes the cover very profesional, do you know that machina is that?

thanks

[serpwidgets]

There are different ways to laminate your books by yourself. You can use self-adhesive laminating sheets, or you can spray-paint a clear coat on the covers. (The paint may change your colors, so test it out.)

I am not sure what equipment you need for that thin laminating they use on book covers but I think it is lacquer.

[kbelani]

thanks man I bought the cut paper for 12 sheets and print some covers without laminating and I lke them a lot, maybe I will try with a spray later. Ehy this lacquer is piant lacquer or hair lacquer, thanks man

[serpwidgets]

It's the spray paint kind.

[kbelani]

thanks man I am using self adhesive sheets, I bought one for $2 dollars (3mx0.45m)and now look very professional, also i am using word 2007 for the text and power point for the covers

[sfer75]

Hello,

Nice method, what model of stapler are you using? How many sheets can you staple together?

thanks for sharing

Regards

Stephane

[serpwidgets]

Hi,

It's a Swingline (Stock# 39002) heavy duty stapler, 160 sheet max. I am using the 1/4" staples, which is the same as the book's thickness, so they do not curl out the other side and leave huge bumps. The longer staples tend to get mutilated, too. Experiment with different ways to staple to find what works best. Paper weight is a big factor: stapling through 20 lb paper is way easier than the equivalent amount of heavier papers.

[asbaDoce]

Cool, cool, cool!

The stapler and hot sillicone for binding just rules, great idea!

[koshkazavr]

very useful tnx a lot

[teyohmackenzie]

Thx S. (smile).

[teyohmackenzie]

Hello, thank you. That guillotine cutter what brand and cost range? Also, how to hide the staples between 'content pages' and 'cover'? (smile) Take good care.

[serpwidgets]

The cutter is an SG298, if you google it you'll find plenty of info on them.

If you squeeze the staples into the paper with no-tooth pliers, it keeps them from sticking out more than the thickness of the cover stock. The other trick is to NOT smash the cover into the pages so hard that the staples show through. The glue will also create some thickness between the paper and cover so that the staples are not "rising out" of the plane of the glue.

[Zooni2]

Nice tutorial.

thx