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hand binding, bookbinding, book binding, self-publish, self publish, self-publishing, self publishing

THE HAND BOOKBINDING PAGE

Dinky Dogg is an occasional character in the Podok Tales series of humorous sf adventure novels, about aliens with edible, and incredibly delicious, tails. Here Dinky demonstrates some serious hangtime as he tries out his new anti-gravity bow tie. You can download a FREE copy of Podok Tales #1: The Tailnapping, from the Gigabooks Free Fiction Page. Just click on the Gigabooks link at the bottom of this page.

Hi. My name is Chet Novicki, and I'm a writer who's been making hand-bound paperback books for more than 10 years.

DID YOU KNOW THAT PERFECT-BINDING PAPERBACK BOOKS BY HAND IS QUICK, EASY AND INEXPENSIVE?

So quick and easy, in fact, that just about anyone can hand-bind a 100-page, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" trade paperback in less than five minutes. And so inexpensive that the finished book will cost as little as $1 to make, even if you only make one copy. And the results? Astounding. Assuming you do a good job of designing the cover, your hand-made book will be virtually indistinguishable from those published by the major book companies. I mean it - this is not hype. Unless you tell them, most people won't know you made it yourself. And even when you do tell them, lots of them won't believe you. Honest. They won't be able to tell the difference!

SO WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO THIS?

Not much. Some glue, which you can get at any hardware store. Some 8 1/2" x 14" (legal size) covers, suitable for printing by inexpensive home computer printers. A hand-binding press helps a lot, but is not absolutely necessary. And, of course, directions. Until now, some of the needed items were difficult, if not impossible, to find. I searched for a reasonably-priced hand-binding press for years and NEVER found one, which is how I ended up designing and building my own. The legal size cover stock used by this system also can be difficult to locate, especially if you live in a small town and/or only need a few pieces. So in 1997 I wrote a how-to book (The Perfect Binding Handbook: Making Trade Paperbacks by Hand) and I started my own company (Gigabooks) as a source of these difficult-to-locate items. Now you can get the big three items - a hand-binding press, cover stock, and directions - at a reasonable price, all from the same source.

NOW ANYTHING THAT CAN BE PUT ON PAPER CAN BE MADE INTO AN ATTRACTIVE, PROFESSIONAL-LOOKING, PERFECT-BOUND, 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" TRADE PAPERBACK.

Think of it. Novels, short stories, poems, family histories, memoirs, recipe collections, your children's artwork - the list is endless. Anything that can be put on paper can be turned into a real book. You can even become a small publisher, if you wish, testing titles by publishing them on demand before committing to a big print run.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TRADE PAPERBACKS

This is a method of making 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" perfect-bound books at home, using a hand-binding press.

Pages - Pages are set up side-by-side on sheets of plain white typing paper (8 1/2" x 11"), so that by folding or cutting the sheets in half, they make pages half that size (5 1/2" x 8 12/"). Setting up the pages may be done by hand, using scissors and rubber cement, or by using a printer utility program such as ClickBOOK, which can set up pages from any Windows or Mac file. The pages must be set up in the following sequence: One side of the sheet of typing paper has pages D and A (D to the left) while the reverse side has pages B and C (B to the left). A, of course, is the first page of each four-page grouping, or signature.

Covers - Covers may be of any material, but should be 8 1/2" x 14" (legal size). This will allow binding books of almost any thickness by setting up the cover at one end and trimming the excess after binding. Covers may be set up and printed from your word processing program or DTP. They may also be printed using ClickBOOK, though you'll have to print the spine of the book from another program. Once printed, the cover must be scored twice, alongside each side of the spine, to allow for crisp, square bends where each cover (front and back) meets the spine.

Glue - Almost any contact cement that promises a "strong, flexible bond," or something similar, makes an excellent binding glue. Glue is applied to the edges of the pages and to the inside of the spine and allowed to set before the two are joined, so setting time is a consideration. Contact cement is available at any hardware store.

Binding - Pages are arranged in the binding press with the cover behind them, the part to be trimmed (after binding) sticking up. The pages and cover are tapped, jiggled, or otherwise maneuvered into position (edges straight, etc.) and then are held in position with one hand while the other pushes and holds the pressing bar against them. The first hand releases the pages and tightens the wing nuts on the pressing bar until it is tight enough to hold the pages without slipping. With the pages and cover now secured in the press, glue is applied to the back edges of the pages and the inside spine of the cover (between the score marks). When the glue has set, the cover is pushed down firmly onto the backs of the pages. The wing nuts are loosened and the pages and the cover, now stuck securely together, are removed from the press. The remaining cover is pushed down, into position, and the book is placed beneath a weight to dry for 24 hours. When dry, the cover excess is trimmed using a paper cutter, razor knife, or scissors.

For a more complete look at this method of binding paperback books by hand, including step-by-step photos of the entire binding process and a more thorough discussion of glues and how to use them, see The Perfect Binding Handbook: Making Trade Paperbacks by Hand, by Chet Novicki.

To find out more about all this, please visit my main website (Gigabooks Hand Binding Headquarters - see the link below) or send me an e-mail at podokguy@lava.net

My Favorite Links

Angelfire - Easiest Free Home Pages
Gigabooks Hand Binding Supplies and Information

Email: podokguy@lava.net