How To: Bookbinding

At M.E.S while printmaking is our first love, bookbinding is a close second! We have provided below a brief run down of the key materials involved in the process as well as some tips and product advice for approaching your own bookmaking projects.

Papers and Boards

The beginning to any book project is selecting your paper. We stock a range of bookmaking papers such as the popular Hereford paper, a lovey midweight option perfect for the beginner bookmaker. However, you can really use any paper to suit your project; in our example we have used a beautiful 100% cotton watercolour paper to create a sketchbook ideal to take quick watercolour sketches when working en plein air.

Note: We have used Arches HP 300gsm paper and a Professional Bookbinders Board for this project

Book Cloth

Book cloth is available in a range of finishes and colours. The always popular Buckram cloths are a stiff cloth that is tough and has a smear-resistant acrylic making them perfect for the beginner book binder.

In our example image we have used a cloth from our new Cilaux range of cloths which feature a lovely silk matt surface and textile feel as well as a smooth lining for easy application of glues and adhesives.

Note: it is always recommended to use a quality blade for precise cutting of your book cloth. We like the heavy duty NT Knives for this purpose

Glues, Tapes and Adhesives

For traditonal bookbinding a good quality PVA/Glue that is Acid Free and pH neutral is a must for preserving the longevity of your books. At M.E.S we offer both the Lineco and TBB acid free Bookbinding Glues.

An alternative to gluing can be found in our Double Sided Adhesive Sheets (used in the example here). These sheets are double sided with a white protector to peel away on each side. In our example we have adhered a pre-cut piece to our book cloth before attaching the board.

Whether using glue, tapes or other adhesives a Bone Folder will always come in handy for smoothing out the application of cloth and paper to your boxboard.

Tools

One of our favourite tools for bookbinding is the Nonaka Screwpunch which can be used to quickly make perfect and consistent holes in your book signatures for binding. The bits for this tool come in a range of 11 sizes for varying size holes. We recommend having a slightly bigger hole than the size of the needle being used.

In the example image a number 18 needle is used with a 1.2mm screwpunch bit.

Needles and Threads

Bookbinding needles come in two basic styles - straight and curved - with each suited to different styles of binding. While straight needles are suitable for most stitches, curved needles come in handy when looping around previous stitches; such as when doing a coptic stitch (as seen here).

Threads come in a variety of thicknesses and colours to suit any project. Here we have used the Wenzel Linen Thread. This thread comes lightly waxed but a bit of extra beeswax has been applied to help the thread move easier through the thicker paper used and prevent fluffing.