Simply Perfect Binding
by
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2009 by Will Decker
This eBook is a work of fiction. All names, places, and characters are strictly from the imagination of the author and bear no connection to any place or person living or dead. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
NOTICE
Many of the tools and products used throughout this manual are protected by copyright. I in no way or intent apply that these specific products or tools are preferable to any others available on the market; it just so happens that they were readily available to me at the time. Always use tools and products safely and in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations. I have and always will encourage you to experiment with what is readily available to you, whether you scrounge it up in a second hand store or purchase retail. There is great pleasure to be found in making something by using your imagination and ingenuity.
A Note from the Author
As I’ve stated originally, this is not a book on commercial bindery systems or automated publishing. Nor will I be discussing the restoration of antique books or the history of book binding-it is quite simply a book to help the writer with limited resources get his work into print- fast and easy and in a Mass Paperback size. If you follow my guidelines and acknowledge my hints and tips, when you’ve finished this book it is my sincerest wish that you too will be able to make a book the size and quality of the commercial publishing trade.
When I finished my first novel, it was extremely important for me to see it in print. After trying all the conventional methods to get my work published, short of Vanity Publishing, I began researching methods for making books. I was amazed that those complicated looking things I’ve been burying my nose in for most of my life, were in fact pretty simple in nature. Without a doubt, the real work is in creating the text.
This guide is not intended as a source of information to create books that can be sold in mass quantities. Its purpose is only to provide the necessary information to the do-it-yourselfer in the hopes that anyone can create a beautiful one-of-a- kind book
With that said, I’m sure you too will discover as I have that there is a great deal of pleasure to be found in taking that labor of love and turning it into something you can hold in your hands and be extremely proud of!
In this latest edition, (2010), I wish to share all that I have learned in the last two years since making ‘SIMPLY PERFECT BINDING’ Ed. 1 available. In addition to leaving all the valuable and still pertinent information contained within those covers intact, I will cover a slightly modified technique for the binding process that incorporates a standard household iron and hot glue. My personal experience from implementing this new-to-me method has shown it to make a tougher, more durable product that stands up to the abuse of multiple readings by a variety of readers. For this reason alone, I determined it important to update this tome of experience to make this latest discovery available to all.
I sincerely hope you enjoy applying the information I have compiled in this how-to book and that the finished products bring you as much joy as they have me.
Will Decker
PREFACE
I will delve into more detail with each step of the process, covering all the tools and materials that I’ve found to work. At that time, I will also offer tips that I’ve learned through ‘doing’, and I have done a lot of ‘doing’ between writing novels.
Note- There are always alternatives to tried and true materials and methods. I strongly suggest you experiment.
One of the greatest pleasures in producing a one of a kind-one at a time-book is that you can customize it specifically for the individual to whom you intend to give it. My friends and family are always taken aback when they receive my latest novel and the credits are thanking them personally for their inspiration or help.
The press pictured and used in the illustrations is simple and unique. Anyone with access to some scrap lumber and a ‘C-clamp’ can build one. The trick to a good press is ease of use and that all the joints are perfectly square for a concise binding. A fancier arrangement could be fabricated from more expensive materials, but the same purpose will be served and the final product the same if you’re press is constructed accurately. All told, the press is nothing more than a tool to square up and hold your book together under pressure while the glue sets.
In the second part of this guide you will notice that the press changes. This second press is not an improved version of the original press. It is simply showing you another press also constructed of scrap materials incorporating a 6” steel ‘C’-clamp.
In the original guide, I explained my process using cold-set glue available at almost all hardware, craft, and variety stores. The product pictured is what I use with good results, but is in no way an endorsement of this product over any other. Any strong adhesive that remains flexible will work if it doesn’t stain or otherwise damage the paper. The cold-set glue process is widely accepted and still a viable option that actually works better for some hobbyists than the second method I will be demonstrating.
Almost any paper stock can be used, but I recommend an inexpensive photo paper for the cover, and 18# or lighter paper for the leaves. 20# paper will work, but the pages may be slightly stiff, increasing the strain on the glued binding. 20# and heavier paper will work fine with larger books such as Trade paperbacks. On a side note, I have used 20# stock for most of my books simply due to the inexpensive cost and ready availability. I have obtained lighter weight paper stock simply for experimental reasons and found it to be superior for the purposes described here.
In short, use as light of weight stock as your pocket book and printer will handle. Toilet paper could be used, if you were so inclined, but it’s not a very durable material for book leaves and has a tendency to leave behind a great amount of fuzz buildup in your printer. Don’t ask me how I know that. Readily available 8½ X 11 paper will yield three leafs per sheet or six printed pages. You don’t have to be a math major to see how inexpensive the paper in a book is compared to the total cost, as compared to just the printing costs.
Any printer will do, but this is going to be your largest expense involved in making your own books--not the actual cost of the printer, but the per/page cost of printing. There are many inexpensive laser printers on the market, or you can consider an ink jet. Just remember, the ink jet printer is slower, as a rule, and considerably less cost effective per page of text.
My best investment since making my own books was a $5.00 laser printer I obtained from a second-hand store. The toner cartridge was depleted, but still intact. I refilled the cartridge with bulk toner, cleaned the rest of the printer inside and out, and have printed more than 20,000 paperback pages with it since then. My more expensive laser printer, which I purchased new hasn’t been nearly as reliable. Save your ink jet for printing covers, unless you’re into refilling ink cartridges.
This is a grand hobby that has much potential. It takes up relatively little space to enjoy; I know this because I live fulltime in an RV and have always found a space within it to make books, even when just the countertop is available.