Pro tip: I was rounding my book spines for a whole year before a binder in Chicago told me I was using way too much pressure.

She pointed out my rounded spines were uneven because I was pressing down with my whole arm weight instead of just guiding the text block with my palms.

4 comments

4 Comments

the_jamie1mo ago

Yeah, that makes total sense. I read this old forum post from a bookbinder who said the same thing, that new people always use too much force. They called it "letting the book find its own shape" instead of forcing it. You're basically just helping the sections settle together, not trying to make a curve happen. It's one of those things you don't realize you're doing wrong until someone points it out. My first few tries were so lopsided because I was basically wrestling the book into submission.

paige_owens51mo ago

What gets me is how this changes with different paper. That heavy art paper fights you, but cheap printer paper almost falls into place on its own. You have to adjust your touch for every single project, which is something I never see mentioned. It's not just about using less force, it's about listening to the materials. My biggest mess-up was treating linen paper like it was cotton rag, and the whole spine went stiff. The book never did open right.

riverh491mo ago

Remember my friend who tried to bind with that handmade paper from the craft fair? She pressed down SO hard trying to get a sharp crease, and the whole signature just split right at the fold. It was like the paper just gave up. She learned the hard way that some materials just won't be bullied. Now she tests a scrap piece first to see how it wants to behave, which seems so obvious but you really don't think about it until you ruin a whole batch.

diana_kim661mo ago

Honestly it's like that with wood too. You can't just force a board to bend, you have to work with the grain or it'll crack.