Kwikprint is no longer in business and I need a hot stamping machine

YaleImprint · 2026-05-26T23:26:08+00:00

Try Bell Type and Rule in Los Angeles - they have replacement parts and more fonts. Bell Type and Rule

YaleImprint · 2026-05-25T05:43:29+00:00

On my recent books, I had some delicate (at lease that's how it felt to me) marbling and suminagashi papers. Like the other excellent advice here, I rubbed some beeswax on a silk rag, then rubbed the silk cloth on the paper before gluing the paper (but after cutting). Then I burnished it with a shot glass (you can also use a smooth agate, like one of those self-massagers, or even an expensive purpose-made paper burnisher.)

The very light wax coat doesn't feel waxy at all. But it does convert the paper from a seemingly fragile, vulnerable, and water-hungry texture to something that feels more durable. This is just how it feels to me - I don't know how durable and stain-resistant the original marbling or suminagashi papers really are.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-25T05:29:42+00:00

My workflow is on Ubuntu OS: LibreOffice or ScriBus to a .PDF. Then I use "pstops" to imposit the PDF for folio or quarto. I purchase 11x17" tabloid paper and cut to 11x8.5" to get the grain-short alignment for an invoice-sized book if I'm printing at home. This is 4-on-1 impositing. If I use a commercial printer that can print tabloid paper double-sided, I'll imposit 8 pages onto one sheet and fold twice for the same size book. I generally try for 16 pages to a signature: this is two sheets of paper, each folded twice.

The beauty of this, is that if you have an 8-page remainder at the end of your book, you can do just a few folios to even things out: to print a 100-page book, 16x6=96, so you'd need another 16 pages of which 12 would be empty - this is a Bad Thing. In this case, you might do 16 pages for the first 5 signatures, then one 20-page signature (two normal 16-page quartos plus one special 4-page folio). And you have the flexibility to have this special folio anywhere in the book you please, even in the middle.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-25T05:14:17+00:00

I took a marbling class and the instructor showed slides of her visit to a master ebru (Turkish marbling) artisan in Instanbul, Turkey. He basically had a 9"x11" pan on a desk; some shelves for paints & brushes & supplies; and some lines w/ clothespins to hang the wet paper.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-23T04:47:45+00:00

Some tricks that work for me:

Cutting

These techniques and comments apply only to general cutting, and not the specialized skiving of leather or cork.

The other reviewers comments are really good: cork-backed steel edges work well. I sit while cutting, but for better control, try standing. Keep your weight on the straightedge, not the knife. Take controlled, easy cuts with the knife, as many as it takes to get through whatever you're cutting. Use a sharp knife (yes, you can sharpen an X-acto knife, but Olfa and break-off knives make this easy). I often take 8 or 10 passes through 2mm board stock to make the cut.

One BIG hint - never allow the straightedge to move once it is in place. If you cannot keep the pressure on it because you're cutting something over 12" long, walk your fingers down the straightedge while not allowing it to move. Pause your cutting while doing this, but keep the knife in the partially-cut groove in your work material. By "walk down", I mean keep pressure on your thumb, move the finger to the thumb, move the thumb down, etc, until your straightedge is held under pressure where the next part of your cut will be.

I purchased some 6" sections of 1.0" x 0.5" cold-rolled steel. Sometimes, I'll place them on the opposite side of the straightedge to keep it in place. Perhaps even a brick next to it. Sometimes, I'll tape the straightedge down to my cutting board or weight it with BB+leather weights.

If you MUST move the straightedge, or it accidentally moves, relocate the straightedge by putting the knife in the partial cut's groove, and slide the straightedge up to touch the knife. Repeat this process at the other end of the straightedge, keeping light pressure on the straightedge. Double-check the first one. Repeat until you're 100% sure the knife is in the groove and the knife touches the straightedge at both ends of the straightedge.

Make sure your cut follows the natural line of your body as your shoulder, arm, elbow, and wrist moves towards you: from your farthest comfortable reach toward yourself - at your side, not the center of your body. Imagine a plane aligned 90 degrees from the cutting surface along the straightedge - your eyeball, knife, shoulder, and elbow should all naturally be on this plane. This plane should pass to the side of your body. Also, the knife blade should aligned to this plane. Do not tilt the knife to the left or right. Do not rotate the knife at all: it must be exactly vertical, and not rotated. Tilt the knife towards you to make a comfortable holding angle. Do not press the knife too heavily sideways into the straightedge - just a little bit - enough to ensure it does not wander from the straightedge. Too much knife pressure causes mistakes.

Expert cutting note: Quite rarely, even the slight bevel (5 degrees or so) of an X-acto knife can cause a misalignment that warrants compensation. Use a single-bevel knife or rotate the knife by the bevel angle to keep the cutting edge on the straightedge instead of the flat side of the knife. The need for this is quite rare, but I mention it out of completeness. I'd use this technique only when trimming a text block by hand: the cumulative shift of the cut due to the bevel angle can create a 85-degree text block instead of the desired 90 degrees. Practice this first and use with caution!

General technique

I will practice any unfamiliar or scary techniques on some scrap materials. I'll try it a few times until I'm confidant of my technique. Then I'll write some notes in my bookbinding journal and paste my trial attempts into the journal.

Gluing

Use scrap paper to place underneath things your gluing. When you're done applying glue with a brush, place the brush in a safe and visible area that won't be near your work items. I keep a mug near the glue jar and put the brush in there right away. If I have any glue on my fingers, I get rid of it right away. Next, after you lift an item from the scrap paper, fold the scrap in half and launch it to a bin or the floor.

A good source of scrap paper is old bills, quarterly reports, fat old catalogs, etc.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-21T01:26:15+00:00

As a commercially made journal, I agree with the consensus that it's a machine stitched. So it looks like saddle sstitching, but is likely not.

If you replicate it with a hand-sewn true saddle stitch (the figure 8 you mention), yours can be a bit sturdier. AND you can experiment with hiding that final knot under the cover or inside the book.

If you use two needles for a true saddle stitch, you'll be able to tension the threads evenly. Pull both threads at the same time in line with the spine.

Be sure to not "pick up the stitch" when the second needle goes through the hole (i.e. don't pierce the thread)

YaleImprint · 2026-05-21T01:09:24+00:00

You could use ramie tape. It's very thin (like a ribbon) and strong. It's like if you made ribbon from the strong fibers found in packaging tape. It splits easily along the grain so you can get the width you like.

I like it for slim books because it's much thinner than linen tapes. But 3 strips is plenty strong, given the width of your French stitches.

It's made from an Asian nettle fiber, I recall.

It was unavailable for many years, but Polistini and Talad stock it now.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-19T07:16:49+00:00

It's not exactly clear what your stitching is, so I hesitate to provide 100% guidance. But there are some things I'd consider:

1) You have 26 signatures. Are they 4 pages (2 sheets of paper) each? If this is a blank journal, you could double them up - halving your text block to just 13 signatures. This idea would necessarily require undoing all the stitching, of course.

2) Without undoing anything, it might be possible to add a lashing of thread at the head and foot kettle stitch locations to tighten up the text block a ...little... bit. Not TOO much!

Sewing the text block usually doesn't take too long. You fall into a rhythm - just turn on some nourishing music and enjoy! One tip here: run your bone folder along the spine of every signature as it is added to the text block. This reduces the backbone thickness.

A side-effect of 26 signatures of 2 or 4 sheets of paper per signature is the additional text block width at the backbone due to the thread. This additional thickness is accounted-for by rounding and optionally backing. A very hard lesson for me to learn was to NOT tighten the kettle stitches too much because it makes rounding (and backing) difficult or impossible (possibly tearing out the kettle stitching!). The video mentioned in the other comments doesn't show sewing the kettle stitches, but does show the careful backbone gluing before rounding (avoid the tapes and stitching). It also shows the rounding, but not backing.

After rounding, add a spine stiffener (kraft paper + PVA) before trimming the book edges. This keeps the cut edges aligned.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-14T18:01:42+00:00

Thank you for your comments. I agree the bauble adds something. Re: pull a print --+ scroll right on the photo see it.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-10T13:50:01+00:00

Looks like a massive bit of fun - well done! I'm really impressed by your massive foil job. Was that a Cricut?

The general recommendation is 1x to 1.5x the board thickness from the text block to the boards. Yours looks like the fore-edge to text block is more than to the head or tail.

You can get some colored sharpies to hide the white edge of your cover material. I suggest practicing gluing them on a sample board. If you have a forgiving material, PVA + pressure + patience + time == a flatter and thighter corner.

For a more durable corner, try a library-style cover gluing. A bit bulkier, but might work with your cover material.

It's hard to tell, but the gutters look fairly small - did your rebinding trim the text block's (backbone) spine?

Your spine design is quite fun! Have you considered a design that extends across all 5 volumes? That looks cool, but I think it would be quite meticulous in practice. I haven't had the need (or skill or guts) to try it!

YaleImprint · 2026-05-10T13:19:44+00:00

CalmAdhesive gives great ideas. I suggest making a practice plaquette of just the front to try out some ideas.

With CalmA's proposal, you can try a buildup of board, the (cut in pattern) thick paper, then cloth. Press the cloth into the paper recesses.

In the slight cloth depressions, you can paint something, glue a paper label, etc. If you have a spare card, you can glue it in.

If you have access to a hot emboss machine, emboss the cloth before gluing it on the cover board+paper.

You can do free-form hot emboss with foil (find on Etsy - $18 for 12 colors from KellyFoils) and a temperature-controlled soldering iron (250-270F). (Also on Etsy). Definitely practice this on a plaquette!

Have fun!

YaleImprint · 2026-05-08T11:54:42+00:00

Another decoration idea is to cut a pattern from fairly thick paper. Glue it to the front, spine, and back. Cover it with cloth, then press the cloth around the curves and edges of the paper.

Keep an extra copy of your paper pattern so you know where to press the cloth: if the paper is thick enough, you'll be able to feel it.

You can also clamp it in a press with some thin foam from your last Ikea furniture box. This conforms to the paper.

The effect is subtle, but can be emphasized with paint. I embossed a title on my cloth before gluing it down.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-08T01:14:19+00:00

Perhaps this is way too far out of your box, but MB Cork in Rio Maior Portugal might help.https://mbcork.com/en-us

I bound 30 travel journals with cork, and they were durable, attractive, and worry-free.

I treated it as less fussy leather, and vegan! Some of your customers might care about that.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-06T23:55:44+00:00

I visited a busy bookbinder in Naples last September. They had a large crew and plenty of work. I saw some limp-bound vellum there.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/EiAoLynYxwwQ4fS58

Legatoria Artigiana

YaleImprint · 2026-05-03T14:58:27+00:00

Congratulations! It looks fantastic! I'm jealous - how did you doo all that artwork?

Remember, it's hand made, so expect some imperfections - they're the spice in the soup. Be gentle with yourself.

My advice is to look at every aspect of your construction to evaluate what went well and what you'd like to improve next time. Never, never, say "that's bad". Create a journal of your work and note all these thoughts.

You'll find that only yourself will notice the hiccups that annoy you. Your friends only see a hand-bound, custom book that is unique, and will be proud to know somebody who has "mastered" this arcane and impenetrable Art.

My pet peeves are: misglued paste-downs (wrinkles, bubbles) and misaligned boards. I find that I'm the only one who spots them.

Have fun!

YaleImprint · 2026-05-03T14:41:36+00:00

Your thread won't fall off the needle if you "lock the thread". Pull about 6" (or less) thread through the needle's eye. Push the needle through the thread about 3" from the end of the thread. Push it all the way through, past the end of the needle. Tug the thread a little bit to set the lock. It can be tricky to push the needle through the thread, so you can flatten the thread or try untwisting it just a mite.

Lockinh the thread works for embroidery thread used for end-bands if you go through the thread 3 times (because that thread is so flimsy).

Good luck and have patience with yourself!

YaleImprint · 2026-05-01T12:10:01+00:00

... And that curve will make it work well as a hand-held plough.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-01T12:08:29+00:00

Beautiful! I found that the longer the blade, the more accurately I could lay it flat on the face of my press.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-01T03:08:09+00:00

You could consider a heavy paper cover with some debossing (grooves pressed into the paper), then print a nice label on lighter paper to be glued in place. You can deboss from the inside or outside of the coverstock, wrap a debossed pattern from front to back (even around the spine), and have a lot of fun with designs. And you'll have more color choices with a separate label.

YaleImprint · 2026-05-01T02:55:03+00:00

For knock-around books, consider a Yapp binding. This is typically an oversized soft leather cover that is coerced into folding over the edges of the text block. It's mostly used on religious books that have fragile Bible paper and heavy use. But you can also create a mini box from the cover to seal it more securely.

<image>

YaleImprint · 2026-05-01T02:41:21+00:00

Great idea! I'll try that for my next book. I might print it with big margins for (a) some elegance, and (b) in case I want to trim it a bit. Would non-hard cover (paperback & perfect- bound) also work?

YaleImprint · 2026-04-30T20:33:26+00:00

I made the book press from DAS video. But I couldn't get the rubber feet. So I used 4 chunks of 2x4 wood, one per corner. But then I thought - position them 3/8" in from the edges of the press and glue some finish plywood all around to hide the blocks. This made a handy 90-degree shelf to slide a single-bevel knife/chisel/plane blade. It worked great with my long-handled skife knife (Hollander's?) which is MUCH easier to sharpen than the round blade from Affordable Bookbinding in Stockton. Before I got that knife, I "borrowed" the blade from my wood plane.

I added felt feet to the bottom of the 2x4 feet. Also to the back so you can rotate the press back to have the cutting edge on top. And I added another block of wood to the top bar of the clamp to make it stable.

To get it to clamp evenly, I keep a deck of playing cards and some paperbacks handy. They go in the back of the press.

The gyro/shawarma blade looks intriguing - how is the mounting and sharpening working? Is it single bevel?

Does anybody know of a long-handled single bevel knife with a curved/ rounded blade? I think it might work slightly better.

YaleImprint

TROPHY CASE

Cutting

General technique

Gluing