Binding a book

06 January, 2005

Sarah-Lynn Brown
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13 Comments

So you have a book on your harddrive and you are itching to see it in print. Or you want to make a blank book...skip to the binding part, you only need blank paper.

Once you have the layouts in Pagemaker or other publishing program and they are in the proper collated order you can print out your inside pages.

1st Rule: The number of pages in your book has to be devisable by 4 or you will need to add blank pages until it does. The paper is folded in half and front and back makes four pages.

2nd : They have a set order that they will have to be put into when sending to your printer to print them front and back. I give an example of a 16 pg layout.

Imagine taking apart the book and removing the pages like an onion peel. This is the order the pages will go in.

Last Page- First Page on reverse Second page- Next to Last page and so on as in the diagram.

**Notice the numbering pattern and that all page pairs add up to the total number of pages plus one.... = 17 in this case.

13 Comments

Sarah-Lynn Brown 06 Jan 2005

While it can also be done by a machine, hand stiching will give a novice the best control and appreciation of the process.

When I hand bind I punch the holes first with a dress pin or other needle to make guide holes for my sewing needle to go through. The commonly you double white thread, but I sometimes opt for a color thread. Stitch every quarter of an inch and then double back at the other end and fill in to make it sturdy and more attractive. Make sure to pull stiches firm against the pages but not so tight to tear the paper.

ADDING COVER:

For a soft cover: Print your cover on card stock and glue endpages and book into it with it flat on a table. If you glue it in with book closed the book will dry very tight and nearly impossible to completely open without tearing the spine and binding.

For a Hard Cover:

Use two peices of heavy board cut to size, slightly larger than inside pages. Cover it with cloth and glue it down or sew it down with atleast an inch folding neatly over all inside corners.

When you are going to place the inside of your book into the cover, make sure you add a strip of glue along the stiching to attach it to the cover and then glue down endpages (inside covers) aswell, trying to avoid airpockets and glue bumps. Best to smooth out the Elmer's glue with your finger.

Jude 07 Jan 2005

This is interesting Sarah.

I do have a book my grandfather wrote about his time serving in WW1 I would like to get published.

I am wondering if your method will work for it. It is well over 100 pages.

I am curious if you are binding your book for yourself or are you binding it to sell?

Sarah-Lynn Brown 07 Jan 2005

I was binding for myself and to give away. But I am wondering if someone would buy a handmade book.

You can make one that is 100 pages. The trick is that the book would have to be broken up into signatures (16 page sections) that will be binded and then the group attached to each other.

There is also a cool site called www.lulu.com that makes it free to upload and publish your book. I don't know the specifics on publishing a relatives work.

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06 January, 2005

Binding a book

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