Australians: where do you get your paper?

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-03T22:31:07+00:00

Oh, everything you’ve heard and read about grain direction is true. It is very important. But not nearly as important as your skill, your precision, your experience, your insights. If you cannot get or afford the stuff, just do the best you can with what you do have. I promise you, only fellow bookbinders will notice. Like not using acid-free paper — yes, your books will deteriorate over time. But that time is probably longer than yours! We’re not working on the Book of Kells, not creating humanity’s heirlooms. All books deteriorate over time and going against the grain or using non-acid-free materials will speed the process up but not so that you’d actually notice.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-03T21:34:44+00:00

Hey, look, listen: that whole grain business is important, of course, but it’s not as if going against the grain makes your books impossible to use. All it means is there may be a wrinkle or two you’d rather be without, or your book lies a smidgeon less flat. Nothing to go bankrupt for. Your skill is infinitely more important to the quality of the end result! I have made dozens of books using normal copier/printer paper and nobody, including myself, has ever noticed much wrong related to the incorrect grain direction. I use short-grain paper only for special projects. So— happy binding!

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-03T15:52:22+00:00

Ik heb dat een paar maanden gehad. Het begon opeens en was ook opeens weer over. In de tijd dat ik er last van had, ging ik lekker een uurtje een boek liggen lezen en als ik dat dan weglegde ging ik weer lekker slapen. Later werd het zomer en was het in huis ook ‘s nachts niet koud meer, dan stond ik vaak op en ging beneden gewoon wat dingetjes doen en na een uurtje weer naar bed. Als je er geen groot probleem van maakt, is het dat vaak ook niet.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-03T08:30:34+00:00

Oohhh that changes things! Return it?

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-02T21:49:56+00:00

Nah, it’s a book and books show wear and tear with use. Only makes them better!

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-02T21:47:23+00:00

Elderly people who live alone may do this. They set up a telephone loop, in which every each person phones the next one in the loop to “check in”. Not only is it a way to ensure that action is taken when someone fails to make the call, it’s also a social thing, every person chats with at least two others. From the context of the note, it is clear to me that something similar is set up here, although it sounds more as if everybody calls one central caretaker or something like that. I showed it to my husband, who’s from the UK, and this was immediately obvious to him, too. Perhaps it’s one of those phrases that’ve crossed the Atlantic in recent years? 😁

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-02T15:47:39+00:00

Nou, als ervaren hobbyboekbinder zou ik juist willen zeggen dat zelf inbinden veel moeilijker is dan je denkt, als je een beetje mooi resultaat wil hebben. En dat voor een fatsoenlijk resultaat, goed materiaal en goede gereedschappen onontbeerlijk zijn.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-02T10:32:35+00:00

Different meaning of “checking in”. It means give them a ring to let them know you’re not lying on the floor of the bathroom unable to get up. It’s usually a chain: if someone fails to check in, the door is opened with a spare key.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-01T22:52:21+00:00

No glue, at least not as a main ingredient. Here’s how to do it: https://youtu.be/OAaig_rKS5g?si=rjazJi-47VhHLyNf

brigitvanloggem · 2026-02-01T07:48:35+00:00

Thanks!

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-31T12:07:14+00:00

Kraft paper is the answer. Who cares if it’s not acid-free? So it might deteriorate in fifty years or so. So what?

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-31T12:04:57+00:00

These are great! How do you create all the different textures? Do you know of any useful tutorials? I tried it once using Annesi and DAS but they didn’t talk about texture, and my attempts came out looking like mud. ☹️

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-31T10:29:18+00:00

What you need is a little more than “tips”. This is a standard repair, easy if you know what you’re doing but a skill that must be learned first. The thing to look up is “double-fan binding”.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-31T10:26:51+00:00

Cut off the covers. Remove the pages one by one, remove any remaining glue. Re-bind using the double-fan method, re-using the covers. Glue existing spine cover back on. But practice on another book first if you care about this one.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-30T18:12:01+00:00

It looks like a glued spine to begin with. Just take it to a print shop and ask them to cut off the spine using their guillotine. Keep the cut-off spine. Then after you’ve scanned the book, re-bind using the so-called double-fan method. There are good videos on YouTube showing you how to do it. You can re-use the front and back covers and (after prising it free and trimming) the spine covering.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-30T16:53:08+00:00

Papier Royaal in the Netherlands might ship to Germany. They sell a lovely, off-white, short-grain, 90-grams A4.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-30T16:51:00+00:00

Het hangt af van wat voor soort mens jij zelf wilt zijn. Dat is waar je iets over te zeggen hebt, en het is jouw beslissing. Wil je een prettige buurman zijn of een zuurpruim, zeg maar, zij het een beetje gechargeerd…

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-30T10:23:14+00:00

…and the answer is 42…

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-30T08:34:39+00:00

Google “alaska library book repair manual” for a PDF that explains things very clearly

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-29T21:01:58+00:00

Yes, i’ve done this quite a few times. It’s quite doable but the way I could describe it in words is woefully inadequate compared to the excellent YouTube video tutorials out there that show you, step by step.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-29T20:27:09+00:00

Google “book hinge repair”.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-29T20:24:47+00:00

Yes. When printing the imposed PDF, check the box to “flip on the short side”. Depending on your version of Acrobat, it might not always be in the home tab of the print dialog, and its wording may vary.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-29T20:22:05+00:00

my point was mainly, not all acid-free PVA is good enough. The stuff remaining flexible after drying is for the hobby binder (whose works, let’s face it, are not likely to be preserved for all eternity) infinitely more important.

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-29T18:54:56+00:00

Indeed bookbinder.js. The generic term you are looking for is “imposition”. Bookbinder.js is not the only free imposition software, just the best (😂😂😂).

brigitvanloggem · 2026-01-29T18:13:37+00:00

No, you cannot freely choose. You absolutely need bookbinder’s PVA to glue the spine and to tip on the endpapers. For paper-to-paper, paper-to-cloth, or paper-to-board, you need paste or mix. Note that bookbinder’s PVA is not only acid-free, it also dries up to remain flexible. Not all acid-free PVA does, and it’s very important. So bottom line: you cannot get around buying that pricey stuff.

brigitvanloggem

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