Asked because the two numbers are very far apart and both are quoted without detail. Paying a binder A full rebind in cloth, with the text block resewn, is skilled hand work measured in hours. A simple recase, reusing…
Six books in, and the pattern is consistent: the finished book looks fine when it comes out of the press, and within a few days the covers curl. Sometimes outwards, sometimes one cover one way and one the other. People…
I make paper models and I have a template with cut lines, fold lines and small numbers that I need on black card. Printing it directly gives me nothing, the ink disappears into the paper. I have an ordinary inkjet, and…
I have been building polyhedra out of corrugated cardboard cut from boxes, joining the edges with ordinary plastic packing tape. Structurally that works well. The problem is finishing. Paint does not take on the tape it…
Every case binding, the pasted down endpaper goes on flat and then within ten minutes there are ripples running parallel to the spine that never fully press out. 100gsm coloured paper, PVA straight from the bottle,…
It's my grandfather's cookery book, the spine has come away entirely and the boards are detached, but the text block is sound and no pages are loose. The binder quoted £180 for a full rebind in cloth with new endpapers,…
180 pages of 120gsm, sewn on three tapes. It opens to about 90 degrees and then the text block springs shut, and if I push it flat there's an audible crack from the middle of the spine. Straight PVA on the spine, dried…
One A5 sketchbook, 120 pages of 160gsm mixed media paper, about 40 pounds for everything including tools. It has to open dead flat so I can draw across the spread. I keep going back and forth between coptic and a long…
I do three or four books a month for friends and colleagues and I've only ever charged for materials, which everyone tells me is daft. Strangers are starting to ask now and I have no idea what a realistic number looks…
Family bible, half leather, the spine turns to rust coloured powder on my fingers and there's already a 4cm loss at the head. Boards are still firmly attached. Everything I find about consolidants is either a…
Finished my third book five days ago and it still has a sharp sour smell when I open it, somewhere between vinegar and school glue. PVA on the spine, wheat paste on the pastedowns, cheap bookcloth, sitting on an open…