Do you guys only fold paper cranes and glue Warhammer figures? I've never seen a bookbinding thread here.

Printed and bound House of Leaves. Split it into 2 volumes because I was afraid to work with so many pages at once. Covered with paper-backed vinyl (black) and linen fabric (red), which will probably collect a ton of dust pretty soon.
Couldn't decide how to put the titles on. Should have made a debossed rectangle with a paper label glued inside. But I hoped that hot ink transfer would work. So I made the covers first, then printed the title on ink transfer paper, and found out that pressing a hot iron to the cloth-covered board warps the board due to heat expansion. Tried on small swatches first (picrel). This method won't work.

As I understand it, my current options to put the title are limited to
>linocut transfer
>screening (sponging the ink through a trafaret)
>just print a paper label and glue it on top
Don't have any hot stamping tools to work with foil, nor the desire to purchase these materials.

Made this maze design for volume numbers, but was too retarded to figure out how to put it on the covers

Anyway, the books are done. Endpapers look like this.
Post some cool stuff I guess

>>627042 (OP)
this shits cool as fuck

>>627045
Thanks. I loved making them.
Decided to read House of Leaves last December. Downloaded the only good PDF in existence that some anon made back in 2006. Spent hours cleaning up, leveling and trimming scanned pages to make them better suited for reading. Learned quite a bit about processing of scanned images and suitable software. The result was quite good, so I thought it'd be possible to recreate it on paper, as it was meant to be read.
My monetary expenses turned out to be about the same or more than the book's cost, not accounting for dozens of hours. But the tools and materials will last for many more books, and the time was well spent.
Printed the pages at work (for free). Picrel is the hole-making process. Made a jig out of 2 Discworld books, a powerbank and a flashlight.
If anyone's interested, I can post more photos and some tips.

>>627042 (OP)
>Printed
What's your printing setup? What would you recommend for a printing setup?

You may as well include creating faux books from recycled cardboard .Which I did start a thread and no one saw it cause I guess it's girly crafts .

>>627042 (OP)
Sketchbook I bound during covid lockdown. Right after I finished this I found a youtube channel called DAS bookbinding and I wished I found him earlier, his videos are very informative.

>>627049
The hinge was too small and opened kinda tightly. Pretty rudementary headband, but it was pretty fun sewing it in. Despite the tight hinge it lays pretty flat.

>>627042 (OP)
How did you trim your text block? I used just a box citter and ruler but I lost it halfaay through and the pages ended up getting jagged.

fucking awesome man, i love bookbinding. i dont do it myself but as a lover of literature and papercraft its so cool to see. great book bte

Cool stuff ITT. I did one notebook ages ago with a soft cover but it was very rudimentary. I sort of want to get into it again but materials/tools are pretty pricey. If I could become at leather working and gilding I might just try to something like this full time though.

is there a reference for the names of different kinds of paper? there is a semiglossy magazine paper with a very light texture that smells nice that I want to get for a notebook

>>627042 (OP)
I collect and repair old books. Vellum is my favorite, it's like the face of an animal skin drum.

>>627047
>printing setup
OP here. Printed at work on Epson WF-C579R. It's an inkjet with duplex, prints very fast. Inks are pigment (not water-based), so they won't run from a random drop of water.
>>627053
no idea. For House of leaves I used basic 80 gsm office paper. It turned out to be of higher quality (very smooth). Also made 2 notebooks using thinner paper from 1986 that was made in USSR (older than mysef).
Sheets folded against the grain – obviously, but that doesn't matter. All the bookbinding youtube experts who say this will cause the book to literally explode are lying scum.
Simply fold it, crease well, put into the press for a bit, then press again after sewing. My spine has the same thickness as foredge, not rounded.
Where the grain direction is absolutely critical is endpapers – the glued endpaper will stretch and then pull the cover board inwards upon drying. So the grain must run parallel to the spine. Bought some A1 sheets of ~130 gsm and cut endpapers from it.
>>627050
very nice, I should try sewing endbands too. That's some buckram type of cloth, right?
Trimmed the textblock with box cutter, but using a thicker blade that doesn't bend or wobble. Ruler is useless, you can only trim very thin blocks that way. I pressed the whole thing with a sheet of wood and used its edge as a guide. The cut started well, but then i fucked it up too. Used sandpaper (120-160-240) to finish it off, turned out very smooth.

>>627050
I'll probably buy a flat blade to trim text blocks. Picrel is a blade for an auger ice drill like this one: https://www.outdoorlife.com/uploads/2022/01/12/eskimobitnew.jpg
The blade itself is dirt cheap, only needs to be sharpened and a handle attached, see video
https://youtu.be/uM3E1GFaYzE
Then it can be used as a plough to make perfect cuts. Alternatively, knife + sandpaper seems to be viable.

>>627047
As for home printing setup, it depends of your needs. Color - go inkjet. Black - go laser.
Inkjet printer needs to have a continuous supply system built in or allow for installation of an external CISS. The latter must not have any software locks in place (some printers lock you out after 500 pages, forcing the purchase of new cartridges). Old Canon Pixma 280, for instance, can print indefinitely - just feed the ink via tubes. Either way, it costs next to nothing to refill the containers.

I'd like to have some pigment inks too. Water-based are extremely cheap (not the "brand" ones, obviously), but having at least pigment black is great for photo printing and plain black text. Common setup is water CMYK + pigment Black.
Automatic double-side printing (duplex) saves a lot of time, especially when printing signatures for sewing.

A very important parameter is the ink droplet size - the smaller it is, the higher the resolution. 1 pl is the best, 3 pl is too blurry for text.

Laser printers are also cheap in maintenance, as cartridges can (SHOULD) be refilled and reused for 5-10 years, until the plastic case finally breaks from constant disassembly. I abhore servicing them myself, but my local shop refills and replaces worn parts for 10% of the price of a brand new cartridge.

Best laser printer I've used is Canon LBP212, an unbreakable beast. If you can buy something with the same type of cartridge (it's huge btw, for 5000 pages), that would be awesome.
Stay away from split cartridges like picrel (HP 232, Canon 049 etc), where photo drum and toner drum are 2 separate pieces. Absolute shit technology, flimsy parts and wears out very quickly.

Can't name the exact models to buy, because their availability varies wildly across different countries. Hope it helps)

>>627044
DAS has tutorial of using two thin cardboards for hardcover, which will hide tapes inside and make endpapers clean.

(oтличный пoлyчилcя пepeплёт)

>>627058
Thanks. Haven't seen that video, I assume the method is to glue the tapes between 2 sheets. But I'd rather not glue cover boards together - that's the easiest way to warp them.
I should've made some shallow cuts in the board (recesses) for the tapes to lay flush. It's very easy to peel off thin slices off the cardboard, and since its thickness is 3 mm quite a bit of material could've been removed.

>>627057
Thanks, good info. Looking to buy a laser one printer for my needs. OTOH, there is a local shop that prints shit for cheap for me but they always get the page alignment or something wrong so I end up stapling them

Bump, is there a good non-mechanical alternative to Smyth binding? I want to produce strong, good-looking books but without buying a $12,000 machine.

>>627061
>non-mechanical
like, electronic?
I'm only half taking the piss here
pinning pieces of paper together is an inherently mechanical process
sewn signatures is the gold standard for long lived books of >~100 pages of <~2000 with traditional book dimensions
and it can be done by hand with some clamps and some smarts for practically nothing
if you're trying to turn out lots of short lived stuff stuff like business handouts, you've got glue bindings, i.e. paperback
for that you'll want an inexpensive machine
doing it by hand is messy and prone to failure and is practically impossible for anything but a one off
your other options are ring binders and staples
it's almost like centuries of the industry existing has arrived at optimal solutions

>>627062
More what I mean is, is there a hand technique that is on par with Smyth binding for sewn text blocks? The underlying machinery that creates the Smyth binding stitches is cool, but I'm having difficulties translating it into a hand technique due to the curved needles and the runner needle.

>>627063
>hand technique that is on par with Smyth binding
again, I'm just not understanding how you're missing this: Smyth binding IS hand binding
it's literally synonymous with sewn binding
why do you think you need a machine?
I mean having a loom helps and they're ridiculously easy to build, but you don't *need* one per se

I finished the binding of my signatures, first time doing it for reals, I practiced with some garbage paper before but I intend this to be a real book.

Not sure how I feel about it tho...Not sure if it should be able to deform this much, I feel like I can't quite figure out how to make tight stiches.

>>627065
this has to be a troll post. try making the pages even before stitching them.

drunk people can walk in a straighter line.

>>627065
Looks very uneven, you should try doing it again. Use thicker thread, yours is very thin. Try a different stitching method that interleaves the thread, like French Link, - it would increase stability and prevent pages from sliding too much. Stitch tighter if needed.
Picrel is my first book (OP), and it wasn't difficult to stitch.

>>627066
The pages were stitched evenly, but they have a lot of room to move.

>>627067
Thanks for the suggestion anon, I will look into the french stitch, what I used for this was the kettle stitch. Unfortunately this is the only thread I have access to at the moment.

>>627054
What kinds of tools and supplies do you keep around for old book repair? Any pointers on procedures and techniques?

>>627046
>Learned quite a bit about processing of scanned images and suitable software
Any software recommendations or other advice on this front?

>>627070
ScanTailor advanced - for basic oprations
ScanKromsator - very powerful tool, geared towards djvu creation, but can output pdfs and images too
Photoshop - look up how to do batch processing with macros.
FineReader - if you need OCR, can create epubs

>>627042 (OP)
I have never been to this forum. I have a bookstore though that I just started and I come to this fucking forum and this is the first post presented to me. I've never even folded a piece of paper before.
Pretty nice.

I've ordered some old Japanese stuff wanting to unbind and scan them. The one issue I've gotten so far has both book paper and glossy magazine paper bound in a thick spine. Hopefully I don't fuck it up... it seems hot air and gently pulling is the only reliable method?

>>627072
hello!

>>627073
>unbind and scan
Is non-destructive scanning out of the question?
poorfag bookscanning:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Bargain-Price-Book-Scanner-From-A-Cardboard-Box/
middle-class-fag bookscanning:
https://diybookscanner.org/
Richfags can use a number of professional scanners.

>>627042 (OP)
here's a japanese stab bound journal i made as a gift, the stitching got a little fucked up at the top. book binding is the shit

>>627057
I have a cannon 227dw that I use for home book printing. Been going strong for 15 years now

>>627046
>edits out the novel gimmick that made reading House of Leaves fun
is it autism?

Got to join in a book binding workshop yesterday at the local library. Been wanting to make physical copies of roleplays and TTRPG sessions I've done over the years like the goober I am, plus I do a lot of crafts with my clients that adding this to my toolkit will be great. The main thing is going to be learning to adapt it to various age groups and mobility levels - majority of the crafting groups are for helping build up or maintain motor skills, so getting them to try and wrangle sewing signatures together isn't going to fly for a lot of them lol.

Pick up some stuff today, workshop had wood cradles for $10, just going to muck around with little dinky practice runs while saving up money for a home printer and figuring out how to format things for printing. Shit's exciting.

>>627079
>Got to join in a book binding workshop yesterday at the local library.
How did you find out about them? I'd like to join one. So far I've only done perfect binds (just gluing), I tried proper stitching earlier and it's not as hard as I thought.

Pretty based. How much does this hobby cost to start?

You guys are alright here. I am from /pol/ due to a mistyped web link.

I do some moreso out of utility than as an art. I get pdfs of stuff I'm interested in that would otherwise be hard to find as an actual book (mostly /x/ shit) and make them into these softcovers with a flap. The design I stick with is based on this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJY4SJipiIo (there's actually three, this is the first one in the series.) Simple, cheap, and functional, just the way I like it. Bonus is you can use the flap as a bookmark.

>>627081
Depends what you want to do. You can go crazy with expensive materials and tools if you really want to. But just getting started all you really need is paper, thread, a needle and a sharp knife. Of course there are more specialized tools that make things easier, but the bare essentials are pretty cheap as far as hobbies go.

>>627081
For reference here's all the stuff I use to make these>>627082

Pic 1: Needles and Thread (it is linen thread which is different from your regular sewing thread and may or may not be harder to find depending where you live), beeswax for the thread (not necessary, but cheap and good to use), scissors for cutting thread, an awl, the Bone Folder, Knife.
Pic 2: Glue (I got a nice bottle of from a real bookbinding supplier online, but there are cheaper alternatives even though this isn't particularly expensive), brush for glue, printer paper, construction paper for the cover, some cheap leather (I think it's suede technically?) for the spine support
Pic 3: My homemade book press, really all you need is something heavy and something flat to press the pages under. I put this together for convenience that way I can move stuff around easier in my workspace.

Also not pictured is a $50 used laser printer I got off ebay with free shipping.

I probably spent a little over $100 total on all my equipment, but most of that was the printer and like I said not everything I bought was absolutely necessary if you're just getting started. If you're just making journals and stuff with blank pages anyway, or if you have access to free printing (student or through work somehow) you won't even need a printer.

Where does everyone get their supplies and tools here? For tools, I usually go for Talas but they're pretty expensive.

>>627056
I plan to just use a disposable knife, but this is a creative idea. It looks like Cabela's carries something similar for about $15.

Is there any way to make these pieces without soldering? I just want to make a 360 sketchbook and the ones sold are too small
Sorry for asking here but I didn't wanna risk killing another thread

>>627086
Those look riveted to me, not soldered.

>>627083
different lurker here but that's a great setup
deckled edges on a book is the best thing ever btw

>>627042 (OP)
I just do classic Japanese bookbinding whenever I want a sketchbook

>>627043
You could try 3D-printing a debossing tool to deboss the board you're using for the cover. Then when you glue the fabric onto it, use a bonefolder or similar tool to push the fabric into the recess. You could leave it like that, or try to paint the recessed area.
I've never done this, so I don't know how well it would actually work.

>>627089
What's the appeal behind that? It doesn't lay flat at all.

What suppliers do you guys use? I'm having a hard time finding non A4 or US sized paper.

>>627050
A few things I've noticed about trimming the edges of stacks with a boxcutter and metal ruler:
-keep as sharp as possible, break off a blade, or install a new one
-hold the blade at a shallow angle, making many passes with limited force. make sure enough of the blade is exposed (slid out) to accommodate your shallow cutting angle
-don't remove too small an amount. If the material being cut away is less and 1/8" wide, it is more likely to buckle and foul the cut
-if the cut material shifts at all, keep your ruler hand in place and remove cut material with your knife hand. Don't be tempted to simply slice through material that has moved into the cut, it'll often foul it up.
-last thing is to pay attention to the tilt of the blade. of course, you're aiming for the cut surface to be vertical, but it can be easy to lose track of the tilt during deeper cuts. The force you use to keep the blade against the ruler can have a tendency to bend or tilt the blade if you're not focused

I've had some excellent Olfa boxcutters for years for modelmaking, etc. (about 20$ for a pack of 50 refill blades that last me ages) I wouldn't attempt anything fine with a bog-standard cutter.

Well screw me for not paying attention before and knowing this thread was here. Of course it would be. I've picked up bookbinding for the past year and tried a bunch of stuff already.
Anyway, I'm thinking of starting my project of a Jurassic Park rebind and I came up with this kind of cover. I'd fit in the amber which I bought for it.

>>627042 (OP)
i thought i’d try my hand at this so i bound some junk mail into a book. it was fun

>>627048
Opposed to the super manly craft of folding bits of patterned paper?

>>627092
Where the fuck do you live where you can't find other sized paper? I personally buy Indian rag paper from Khadi papers. They have stores in UK. It's very cheap and of high quality.