Beautiful bindings. The best gift is a book
In my article, I would like to dwell in more detail on the issues of printing itself (how to make this process quick and convenient) and making a book from available materials.
Big intro
Some time ago I wanted to read Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I tried to read several translations and was not satisfied with any of them. Therefore, the decision was made to read in English! Finding these books in the original in our bookstores is quite difficult. And if there is, then only the first part of the cycle. IN in electronic format somewhat easier to find. But I prefer to read from paper (I’ll definitely buy an E-ink reader - I really like it), so I print out books.The first two books looked like this:
I read them with great pleasure, but they did not look very good. And I decided that " life, the Universe, and Everything“needs to be made into a book.
Process with pictures and comments under the cut. Be careful, there are really a lot of pictures.
Seal
It would seem that what could be easier than printing a book? But there are several important points here.First, you need to choose the right paper. All paper that is produced industrially at pulp and paper mills has a clearly defined fiber direction. The vast majority of readers have access to only printers that can print on sheets no larger than A4. Almost all paper of this size (I tried about 20 brands) has the grain direction along the long side (short-to-short-side bends much worse than long-to-long). Try it yourself and you will immediately understand what we are talking about. We ideally want the fibers to be along the short side. Unfortunately, the packaging of ordinary office paper is not marked for this parameter. Of those 20 brands, all were “inappropriate.” It is put in quotes because the result does not deteriorate much, and I believe that if you do not have the necessary paper, then there is no point in worrying and printing on the one that you have.
Secondly, the pages on the book sheets are not in order.
We will make a classic book. This means that in each notebook of the book block we will have 16 A5 pages - 4 A4 sheets printed on both sides and folded in half.
We start by creating a layout. I used OpenOffice Writer (hereinafter referred to as OOW). We select the desired typeface and font size, set the margins, and number the pages. Please note that the size should be larger than desired. A little later it will become clear why. Save and export to PDF.
OOW cannot print pages in random order. That is, if you set the page numbers 16 and 1, then it will print the first page first, and then the sixteenth. But Foxit Reader, which I use to view and work with PDF, does everything as it should. In the printer settings, select landscape sheet orientation, and in the FoxitReader print settings - two pages on one sheet. This is where the increased font size comes in handy, because actual size pages will be reduced. 
Every two lines indicate the order in which the pages of one notebook are printed. First we print one side (8 pages), then we turn the paper over and print the second side.
You can borrow a calculator from me.
Printing more than one notebook at a time can be risky. First you need to understand the paper feeding features of a particular printer. And then we’ll have to work with notebooks. So printing one notebook at a time is our choice.
Assembling a book block
Here's what we got:
In my case, this is 8 notebooks.
There are many ways to make binding and stitch a book block; I will talk about those that I use myself.
Let's get started.
First you need to bend the notebooks in half. This is where sheets with the correct direction of the fibers would be especially useful to us. You can bend each sheet separately, or you can fold the entire notebook (4 sheets). I prefer the second option. It seems to me that this way the notebook turns out to be more complete. The spoon in the previous photo was not left over from lunch - it is very convenient for it to press the fold line. 
The next step is desirable, but not required. It would be a good idea to press the folded edge of all notebooks into a special press. But without fanaticism, otherwise there is a risk of denting the notebooks. 
While the notebooks are under pressure, we need to mark a template for punching holes. Take a piece of cardboard. We mark the edges (210 mm - according to the sheet format). To sew the book block we will use a 5 mm wide ribbon. In order for the book block to be very strong, we will sew it with three ribbons. Let's take the distance between the holes for the tapes to be 6-7 mm. And along the hole at a distance of 10 mm from the edge. Everything is clearly visible in the picture. 
We mark each notebook along the fold. 
We pierce holes from the inside with an awl. This is what we get on the outside. 
We take pieces of tape and glue them at the required distance from each other with tape. We glue it to the very edge of the table. This is the most convenient way. 
It doesn’t matter which notebook (first or last) to start with. The main thing is not to confuse their order. You need to pay close attention to page numbers. Otherwise you will have to redo it. I would like to immediately draw your attention to the fact that until the very moment of gluing the book block together, we can change whatever we want.
Here you can take a break and relax a little. Because sewing the block is a very important part of assembling the book.
Let's sew! For sewing I use embroidery thread. They are durable, obedient, colorful, quite thick and very easy to find. Have you ever seen a book sewn with lilac thread? I didn't see it either. That's why we take the bright one. Individuality is one of the reasons to do all this. 
The use of weight is highly desirable. The notebooks will not move relative to each other.
The tapes are sheathed on the outside. 
We've almost sewn two notebooks together. We secure the thread with a regular double knot. 
From the third to the last notebook we fasten the thread in this way. 
We secure the last notebook with a knot again. 
Our book block is almost ready! 
We use either a clamp like mine or a regular heavy weight on top.
We fix the block so that the edge protrudes slightly. We coat it with PVA glue (stationery glue is quite suitable). You need very little glue, just enough so that it penetrates slightly between the notebooks. And we press it under a weight so that the notebooks stick together. There is no need to tighten too much. 
Next we glue the endpapers. If we used regular office paper for printing, then for endpapers we need to use thick paper, from 130 g/m2. Endpapers will combine the binding and book block into one whole. 
It is important here that everything is completely dry. While this is drying, we need to get ready to cut the block. 
An old plastic folder, a piece of laminate, a clamp and a knife. If you have the same knife, be sure to replace the blade with a fresh one. The knife must be very sharp. No, not spicy, but SPICY. We clamp the completely dry block as shown in the photo. We press with all our weight on the edge of the laminate where the knife lies. Using clear movements, trim the edge. 3-4 sheets per pass. You can’t relax, otherwise the block will “leave.” It may not work out neatly the first time. And I’m afraid that it will be difficult to do without such a design. A simple ruler cannot be held. If you have friends in the printing house, you can ask them to cut it on the guillotine. 
This is how beautiful it turned out. 
The next stage is completing the assembly of the book block. First, glue a layer of gauze onto the end. It is also good to use filter paper. The goal is to reinforce the end so that the book lasts a long time. 
To protect the corners of the book block, you need to stick captals on them. These are pieces of tape with one edge thicker than the other. You can stick a little more than you need. Then we'll trim it. 
We leave everything to dry.
Making the binding
For binding we need two cardboards. They should be a few millimeters larger on each side than the trimmed book block. Binding cardboard can be bought in art stores (though they sell out quickly there), or you can take apart an archival folder. That's what I did. Strictly speaking, these cardboard boxes were left over from one of my previous bindings.
This time I decided to make a binding with fabric. For the first time, you can (and should) take a piece of old wallpaper. It will be beautiful and everything will stick perfectly. If you decide to take fabric, do not forget to iron it. 
Between the thick cardboards lies a strip of thin cardboard. This will be the end of the book. The distance between them is 4–5 mm. For reliability, we glue the middle of the structure with filter paper. The fabric is marked. The cardboard is glued to the fabric. 
Next we wrap and glue the edges. Everything should dry well. Don't neglect the press. 
The binding is ready!
Putting the book together
Oddly enough, this is one of the easiest stages.We try the book block and the binding next to each other. We mark the best position.
We insert sheets of clean paper between the folds of the endpaper so that the glue does not bleed. Apply glue to the endpaper and cover. We use a brush to avoid dry spots.
We perform the same operation on the other side. 
Place the book under the weight. 
After a couple of hours, take it out and let it dry completely.
Our book is ready. 
We read, enjoy and remember the main rule “Don't panic!”
Mai ashipki
Or what could have been done differently to make the result better.I took a fabric that was too light and loose. Darker and denser would be more elegant.
The endpaper turned out to be folded.
I poured too much glue. And the paper for the endpaper was not thick enough. Ideally, only traces of the tapes on which the block was sewn would be visible.
The first pages were a little wobbly on the outer edges. This is because large quantity glue and due to the direction of the fibers.
Conclusion
Of course, it would be easier to just type and read. Or read from the screen. But I just love the process of creating a book. You can choose the font, paper, binding design, and not use what the publisher offers. It turns out to be a unique book. This, from my point of view, is one big plus.The disadvantages include sufficient labor intensity. It took me almost the whole day to write one book.
And I apologize for the uneven photo quality. Lighting varied greatly throughout the day.
I would like to talk about two enough simple ways binding of magazines and books, as well as individual sheets from various magazines with the articles you need, for example, about cooking. Over time, such magazines bound in the form of books will form an excellent library. I'm in the years of stagnation when good books were in short supply, I collected “fiction”, published in the magazines “Technology for Youth” and “Ural Pathfinder”, in which the stories and tales that interested me were published with continuations. I have never seen the binding methods that I want to suggest here anywhere in the literature. Of course, I didn’t come up with them myself, but I picked them up from a specialist from the city of Priuralsk.
How to bind a book at home
Typically, when binding, individual sheets are stacked, in which holes are punched, drilled or pierced, moving away from the edge of the spine, and then the sheets are sewn together using these holes. However, as a result of this technology, some of the text turns out to be difficult to read, especially on those sheets on which the text is located very close to the edge of the sheet on the spine side future book.
A book formed from sheets using the technology proposed below is, to some extent, free from this drawback. At the initial stage of bookbinding, the same operations are carried out in both cases: they fold the sheets into a stack, trim them along the lower and leading edges, the upper edge can be trimmed later. After all, as you know, sheets even from the same magazine, but from different issues, usually do not match in format. The stack is then compressed using a press, vice or clamp. The simplest option clamps are two flat boards (two metal corners), tightened on both sides with bolts (Fig. 1). Clamp the stack (from the spine side) in a vice so that the narrowest sheet protrudes from the vice by about 5 mm (see Fig. 1). Then the spine is cleaned with a large file, removing the strongly protruding edges of the sheets, and then transverse grooves are cut into the spine with a hacksaw or jigsaw (the number of grooves is at your discretion) to a depth of 1.5...2 mm. This is what it's all about main feature proposed binding technology. After all, if the sheets are punched or drilled at such a distance from the edge, then the threads threaded into the holes will inevitably break through the edges of the sheets. So you can place the holes from the edge of the block at a distance of at least 1...1.5 cm, which will certainly lead to “capture” of the text.
Having made the cuts, the block (package) is installed with the spine facing up. Next, coat the spine with PVA glue (or bustylate), diluted thinner, so that it penetrates into the spaces between the sheets, as well as into the cuts. Then, pieces of nylon or other strong thread are placed in the cuts so that the ends extend beyond the spine by about 2...3 cm (Fig. 2, a) or (as you like) the spine is pulled together with one long thread (Fig. 2, b ). Finally, the entire spine is coated with glue again. When the glue has dried, the ends of the threads are cut off and a light cover is made for the block, that is, a cover made of thick paper is simply glued to the spine and the endpapers are glued in. (The endpapers are the first and also the last double sheets of a block that connect it to the cover. - Editor's note.) From such a book the sheets will no longer pop out, as they do from cheap store-bought paperback books. The above-mentioned store books that have fallen apart are also strengthened in a similar way. But still, in both cases it is better to make a hard cover instead of a soft cover.
When making a hard cover, a piece of cloth or gauze is glued onto the spine of the block using polyvinyl acetate emulsion (Fig. 3), so that parts of a piece of cloth 2...3 cm wide extend beyond the side edges of the spine. Captals are glued to the upper and lower edges of the spine, that is, pieces of finishing braid with a roll on the edge (bright cloth shreds folded in half are also suitable). However, you don’t have to do it. Next, cut out two cover covers from cardboard. The width of each cover should be equal to the width of the glued block. There are many different options making lids, but I want to offer what I think is the simplest. Having cut out the cardboard covers, I select a beautiful fabric, oilcloth, leaderin, etc. A blank for the book's clothing is cut out of the binding material, not forgetting to provide 2...3-centimeter margins on the side of the top, bottom and front edges. The distance between the covers is equal to the width of the spine plus 2x8 mm (Fig. 4, a). Between the covers on a piece of material, you can glue a gap - a strip of thick paper or whatman paper (the width of the strip is equal to the width of the block). The lids are thoroughly coated with PVA and glued to the piece of clothing, smoothing it well so that there are no bubbles. Then the edges of the workpiece are wrapped on the covers (Fig. 4, b), glued to them and the finished cover is dried under a press.
We prepare two endpapers, each of which is folded in half White list paper. We glue one half of the sheet to the lid (Fig. 6), and the other to the outer sheet of the block, and the endpaper is not completely glued to the sheet, leaving a 1 cm wide strip without glue adjacent to the fold of the endpaper.
That's it, it's finished, and the book is put under the press. Of course, I don’t know the professional terms, but it seems to me that I presented everything clearly.
I also want to suggest notebook method of binding magazines. It is somewhat different from the traditional one, when holes are formed along the spine edges of the magazines, for example, with a hole punch, and the magazines are tied with a cord. It is clear, in in this case Some of the text is not always readable. My notebook method does not have this drawback, since the entire binding is made on the outside of the spine.
First, put all the magazines in a stack and mark the places of future punctures on the spines along a ruler (Fig. 7).
Then they take last number magazine and with a large needle, following the marks, stitch it through the middle, forming three or five stitches (Fig. 8, a). I note that with this firmware, the “native” metal clips of the magazines can even be removed. The next magazine, laid on top, is stitched in exactly the same way, but in reverse side. After each stitching, the thread is tightened, removing any backlash (slack). Having completed the stitching of the second magazine, the thread (with a needle) is tied to the end of the thread protruding from the lower magazine (Fig. 8, b). It is clear that the third magazine is stitched similarly to the first, and at the end of the seam its thread is tied to the seam thread of the second magazine, prying the first stitch of the seam of this magazine with a needle.
Making books, albums and hardcover notebooks yourself is not the most common activity. However, the ability to make book binding can come in handy, for example, if you want to save and arrange a printed book. We suggest you try to make a classic book binding quickly and easily with your own hands using the step-by-step instructions below.
Learn how to make high-quality book binding with your own hands in a master class
Required materials and tools:- two small flat boards;
- two clamps;
- thin file for working on metal;
- strong white threads;
- gauze;
- high-density cardboard (you can use thin cardboard glued in 2-3 layers);
- a book spine roller (you can use braid instead);
- colored thick paper for cover design;
- PVA glue;
- scissors;
- glue brush;
- stationery knife.
Books can be sewn or glued. Flashing a book yourself is a very labor-intensive task to do at home. Therefore, we offer a master class on making a binding for a glued book.
We print out the book that we plan to bind. Align the resulting stack of paper along the edge, carefully tapping its ends on a flat table surface. It is necessary to approach the process with maximum responsibility, since it will determine appearance future book.
Spine design.Carefully place a stack of paper on the table with the spine facing you so that the edge of the stack protrudes slightly beyond the boundaries of the tabletop, and place a fairly heavy load on top. Using a brush, apply PVA glue thickly to the surface and leave to dry for a couple of minutes. Then we remove the weight and move the stack of sheets a little further from the edge of the table. We very carefully place the board on top and clamp the resulting structure with clamps.
After 3-4 hours, remove the clamps and again move the stack of sheets along with the board so that they extend beyond the table surface by about 2-3 mm. Using a pencil, we make transverse marks at the end of the stack of sheets at equal intervals (in our case, 2 cm). Then, using the obtained marks, using a metal file, we make cuts about 1 mm deep. It is necessary to ensure that they are strictly perpendicular to the sheets of paper.
We prepare gauze and special rollers for the spine. We cut the gauze so that its length is approximately 1 cm less than the length of the spine, and its width is approximately 4 cm greater (2 cm on each side). In the same way, we cut out two rollers, but their width should exactly match the width of the spine. Gently coat the edges of the rollers with glue.
Similarly, we prepare a strip of paper that will be glued to the spine. Its width should be equal to the width of the spine, and its length should be 7-8 mm less.
Binding process.We generously lubricate the spine of the book with PVA so that the glue gets into each cut made. We insert threads moistened with glue into the cuts so that their ends stick out 2-3 cm on each side. Again, lubricate the spine with the threads with glue and fix the gauze blank on top, then the rollers and lastly a strip of paper, pressing each layer as tightly as possible with your fingers. Leave the resulting structure to dry for 8-12 hours.
After the glue has dried, remove the clamps and cut off the excess parts of the ropes.
Next, we begin making the endpapers. We will make them from thick paper such as Whatman paper (white or colored). We make blanks in the size of the future book. The outer edge of the endpaper needs to be trimmed a little to make it easier to glue.
Lubricate the strip at the fold with glue (about 3-4 mm) and glue the endpaper onto the block of sheets. Then we turn the book blank over and glue the other endpaper in the same way. We put the structure under the press for a while.
We cut out three pieces from cardboard: a spine and two crusts. The crusts should be 8 mm longer than the glued book blank, and equal in width to it. The spine should be equal in height to the crusts, and in width to the thickness of the block.
Then we select paper of a suitable color and draw the blanks as follows:
- the width of one part is equal to the width of the spine + 8 mm on both sides;
- the width of the other two parts is equal to the width of the crusts + 2-3 cm on both sides.
Glue the resulting structure together and cut the corners diagonally. We coat the edges of the paper with PVA, bend them and glue them to the cardboard, especially carefully pressing the corners of the cover.
To design the cover, you can use a ready-made dust jacket, apply an inscription using a stencil, or print and stick paper with the necessary information at your discretion. A technology such as scrapbooking is widely used when decorating book covers: decorating products with cut out or die-cut decorative elements, paper with unusual patterns and openwork edges.
Glue the inner block and the cover together. We first try on both parts and only after that we start gluing. A mistake made at this stage will be almost impossible to correct.
Lubricate one edge of the gauze with glue and press it to the surface of the endpaper. Then we smear PVA over the entire endpaper with gauze. We turn the book over with the endpaper facing down and mount the endpaper to the cover, starting from its edges. We coat the gauze on the top side with glue and glue it to the endpaper, then we smear the entire second endpaper and glue it in the same way. To prevent excess glue from staining the book, it should be lined with unnecessary paper. bigger size. When gluing each workpiece, it is necessary to ensure that air bubbles and folds do not form.
The book binding is ready! After production, it is advisable to put the book under a press overnight.
The binding manufacturing process is greatly simplified if the parts are glued together using hot-melt adhesive. In this case, you need to purchase a special machine for thermal binding and hot melt adhesive itself. All cut-out blanks (cover, book spine and endpapers), together with a printed block of paper, are inserted into the machine and crimped using it. The cover is then glued on by hand. However, if you do not plan to constantly work with book products, purchasing a typewriter will not be advisable.
Video on the topic of the article
For those who have mastered classic book binding in step by step lesson with your own hands and wants to continue working with books, the following videos with detailed lessons bookbinding.
I somehow decided to try my hand at Forex, downloaded a bunch of e-books, and settled on one very good one that was quite voluminous in terms of the number of sheets (400 pages).
I decided to print the e-book and make it a hardcover.
I had the e-book in .dejvu format
The most important thing is to print the pages as needed.
Print Settings:
Printing 2 pages on one side of an A4 sheet is A5 format.
We make the necessary fields so that it can be sewn without problems. I also made a marking - a vertical line between the sheets, for the convenience of cutting the A4 sheet in half.
We print the sheets on both sides. But first I experimented a little to make sure everything printed as it should. I fed each sheet into the printer manually. This took me about 20-30 minutes.
We cut the sheets into and sort them into pages.
We straighten the stack of sheets. We got all the sheets separately (not in notebooks).
We begin to fasten the sheets together into a book block.
To do this we need a small, naturally homemade press and PVA glue.
The press, as you can see, I made from 2 pieces of floorboard and 2 pins (from car tie rods), basically from what was at hand.
It looks like shown in the photo.
We align the stack of sheets and press them into a press. Coat the side to be sewn generously with PVA glue several times and let the glue dry completely. This is done to initially hold the sheets together and make it easier to work with the block. After gluing it takes some time to dry.
We take our book blank, and where we glued it for the first time, we make cuts to a depth of 3-4 mm.
I generously soaked the pieces of thread with PVA glue and pushed them tightly into the cuts.
After I finished with the threads, I once again generously coated this surface with glue. I placed the fabric over the glue and pressed it tightly. I coated the fabric on top with glue.
In this form, I put everything in a warm place.
All that remains is to make the endpapers and cover.
Since I don’t have the book for an exhibition but purely for myself, I decided not to bother with a hard cover, but used a cover from old book suitable size.
After drying, the outer edge of the book block must be trimmed to align the sheets, make the endpaper and glue the cover.
We cut the edge of the book without removing it from the press, placing a piece of plywood for rigidity.
I made the flyleaf, again, from what was at hand - from thick business paper (where business cards were printed :)) - 2 sheets of A4. Possibly from whatman paper.
Having folded the sheets of paper in half, I glued them like this: the first spread with one side in the first sheet of the book (and the second side for gluing to the cover, we will glue it a little later). I did the same with the last spread of the book.
What was printed on business card paper went inside, so all this mess is not visible :).
We wait a little for the glue to dry, then glue the cover.
We glue the spine, together with the first spread of the book, to the cover.
After all these manipulations, I put the book under a large stack of other books for several hours.
Dried! The book is ready!
The endpaper stuck well and evenly.
Some time ago I wanted to read Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I tried to read several translations and was not satisfied with any of them. Therefore, the decision was made to read in English! Finding these books in the original in our bookstores is quite difficult. And if there is, then only the first part of the cycle. It's a little easier to find electronically. But I prefer to read from paper (I’ll definitely buy an E-ink reader - I really like it), so I print out books.
The first two books looked like this: 
I read them with great pleasure, but they did not look very good. And I decided that " Life, the Universe, and Everything“needs to be made into a book.
Process with pictures and comments under the cut. Be careful, there are really a lot of pictures.
Seal
It would seem that what could be easier than printing a book? But there are several important points here.
First, you need to choose the right paper. All paper that is produced industrially at pulp and paper mills has a clearly defined fiber direction. The vast majority of readers have access to only printers that can print on sheets no larger than A4. Almost all paper of this size (I tried about 20 brands) has the grain direction along the long side (short-to-short-side bends much worse than long-to-long). Try it yourself and you will immediately understand what we are talking about. We ideally want the fibers to be along the short side. Unfortunately, the packaging of ordinary office paper is not marked for this parameter. Of those 20 brands, all were “inappropriate.” It is put in quotes because the result does not deteriorate much, and I believe that if you do not have the necessary paper, then there is no point in worrying and printing on the one that you have.
Secondly, the pages on the book sheets are not in order.
We will make a classic book. This means that in each notebook of the book block we will have 16 A5 pages - 4 A4 sheets printed on both sides and folded in half.
We start by creating a layout. I used OpenOffice Writer (hereinafter referred to as OOW). We select the desired typeface and font size, set the margins, and number the pages. Please note that the size should be larger than desired. A little later it will become clear why. Save and export to PDF.
OOW cannot print pages in random order. That is, if you set the page numbers 16 and 1, then it will print the first page first, and then the sixteenth. But Foxit Reader, which I use to view and work with PDF, does everything as it should. In the printer settings, select landscape sheet orientation, and in the FoxitReader print settings, select two pages on one sheet. This is where the increased font size comes in handy, because the actual page size will decrease. 
Every two lines indicate the order in which the pages of one notebook are printed. First we print one side (8 pages), then we turn the paper over and print the second side.
I can have a calculator.
Printing more than one notebook at a time can be risky. First you need to understand the paper feeding features of a particular printer. And then we’ll have to work with notebooks. So printing one notebook at a time is our choice.
Assembling a book block
Here's what we got: 
In my case, this is 8 notebooks.
There are many ways to make binding and stitch a book block; I will talk about those that I use myself.
Let's get started.
First you need to bend the notebooks in half. This is where sheets with the correct direction of the fibers would be especially useful to us. You can bend each sheet separately, or you can fold the entire notebook (4 sheets). I prefer the second option. It seems to me that this way the notebook turns out to be more complete. The spoon in the previous photo was not left over from lunch - it is very convenient for it to press the fold line. 
The next step is desirable, but not required. It would be a good idea to press the folded edge of all notebooks into a special press. But without fanaticism, otherwise there is a risk of denting the notebooks. 
While the notebooks are under pressure, we need to mark a template for punching holes. Take a piece of cardboard. We mark the edges (210 mm - according to the sheet format). To sew the book block we will use a 5 mm wide ribbon. In order for the book block to be very strong, we will sew it with three ribbons. Let's take the distance between the holes for the tapes to be 6-7 mm. And along the hole at a distance of 10 mm from the edge. Everything is clearly visible in the picture. 
We mark each notebook along the fold. 
We pierce holes from the inside with an awl. This is what we get on the outside. 
We take pieces of tape and glue them at the required distance from each other with tape. We glue it to the very edge of the table. This is the most convenient way. 
It doesn’t matter which notebook (first or last) to start with. The main thing is not to confuse their order. You need to pay close attention to page numbers. Otherwise you will have to redo it. I would like to immediately draw your attention to the fact that until the very moment of gluing the book block together, we can change whatever we want.
Here you can take a break and relax a little. Because sewing the block is a very important part of assembling the book.
Let's sew! For sewing I use embroidery thread. They are durable, obedient, colorful, quite thick and very easy to find. Have you ever seen a book sewn with lilac thread? I didn't see it either. That's why we take the bright one. Individuality is one of the reasons to do all this. 
The use of weight is highly desirable. The notebooks will not move relative to each other.
The tapes are sheathed on the outside. 
We've almost sewn two notebooks together. We secure the thread with a regular double knot. 
From the third to the last notebook we fasten the thread in this way. 
We secure the last notebook with a knot again. 
Our book block is almost ready! 
We use either a clamp like mine or a regular heavy weight on top.
We fix the block so that the edge protrudes slightly. We coat it with PVA glue (stationery glue is quite suitable). You need very little glue, just enough so that it penetrates slightly between the notebooks. And we press it under a weight so that the notebooks stick together. There is no need to tighten too much. 
Next we glue the endpapers. If we used regular office paper for printing, then for endpapers we need to use thick paper, from 130 g/m2. Endpapers will combine the binding and book block into one whole. 
It is important here that everything is completely dry. While this is drying, we need to get ready to cut the block. 
An old plastic folder, a piece of laminate, a clamp and a knife. If you have the same knife, be sure to replace the blade with a fresh one. The knife must be very sharp. No, not spicy, but SPICY. We clamp the completely dry block as shown in the photo. We press with all our weight on the edge of the laminate where the knife lies. Using clear movements, trim the edge. 3-4 sheets per pass. You can’t relax, otherwise the block will “leave.” It may not work out neatly the first time. And I’m afraid that it will be difficult to do without such a design. A simple ruler cannot be held. If you have friends in the printing house, you can ask them to cut it on the guillotine.
This is how beautiful it turned out. 
The next stage is completing the assembly of the book block. First, glue a layer of gauze onto the end. It is also good to use filter paper. The goal is to reinforce the end so that the book lasts a long time.
To protect the corners of the book block, you need to stick captals on them. These are pieces of tape with one edge thicker than the other. You can stick a little more than you need. Then we'll trim it.
We leave everything to dry.
Making the binding
For binding we need two cardboards. They should be a few millimeters larger on each side than the trimmed book block. Binding cardboard can be bought in art stores (though they sell out quickly there), or you can take apart an archival folder. That's what I did. Strictly speaking, these cardboard boxes were left over from one of my previous bindings.
This time I decided to make a binding with fabric. For the first time, you can (and should) take a piece of old wallpaper. It will be beautiful and everything will stick perfectly. If you decide to take fabric, do not forget to iron it.
Between the thick cardboards lies a strip of thin cardboard. This will be the end of the book. The distance between them is 4-5 mm. For reliability, we glue the middle of the structure with filter paper. The fabric is marked. The cardboard is glued to the fabric.
The binding is ready!
Putting the book together
Oddly enough, this is one of the easiest stages.
We try the book block and the binding next to each other. We mark the best position.
We insert sheets of clean paper between the folds of the endpaper so that the glue does not bleed. Apply glue to the endpaper and cover. We use a brush to avoid dry spots.
We perform the same operation on the other side.
Place the book under the weight.
After a couple of hours, take it out and let it dry completely.
Our book is ready.
We read, enjoy and remember the main rule “Don't panic!”
Mai ashipki
Or what could have been done differently to make the result better.
I took a fabric that was too light and loose. Darker and denser would be more elegant.
The endpaper turned out to be folded.
I poured too much glue. And the paper for the endpaper was not thick enough. Ideally, only traces of the tapes on which the block was sewn would be visible.
The first pages were a little wobbly on the outer edges. This is due to the large amount of glue and the direction of the fibers.
Conclusion
Of course, it would be easier to just type and read. Or read from the screen. But I just love the process of creating a book. You can choose the font, paper, binding design, and not use what the publisher offers. It turns out to be a unique book. This, from my point of view, is one big plus.
The disadvantages include sufficient labor intensity. It took me almost the whole day to write one book.
And I apologize for the uneven photo quality. Lighting varied greatly throughout the day.
I somehow decided to try my hand at Forex, downloaded a bunch of e-books, and settled on one very good one that was quite voluminous in terms of the number of sheets (400 pages).
I decided to print the e-book and make it a hardcover.
I had the e-book in .dejvu format
The most important thing is to print the pages as needed.
Print Settings:
printing 2 pages on one side of an A4 sheet is A5 format.
We make the necessary fields so that it can be sewn without problems. I also made a marking - a vertical line between the sheets, for the convenience of cutting the A4 sheet in half.
We print the sheets on both sides. But first I experimented a little to make sure everything printed as it should. I fed each sheet into the printer manually. This took me about 20-30 minutes.
We cut the sheets into and sort them into pages.
We straighten the stack of sheets. We got all the sheets separately (not in notebooks).
We begin to fasten the sheets together into a book block.
To do this we need a small, naturally homemade press and PVA glue.
The press, as you can see, I made from 2 pieces of floorboard and 2 pins (from car tie rods), basically from what was at hand.
It looks like shown in the photo.
We align the stack of sheets and press them into a press. Coat the side to be sewn generously with PVA glue several times and let the glue dry completely. This is done to initially hold the sheets together and make it easier to work with the block. After gluing it takes some time to dry.
We take our book blank, and where we glued it for the first time, we make cuts to a depth of 3-4 mm.
I generously soaked the pieces of thread with PVA glue and pushed them tightly into the cuts.
After I finished with the threads, I once again generously coated this surface with glue. I placed the fabric over the glue and pressed it tightly. I coated the fabric on top with glue.
In this form, I put everything in a warm place.
All that remains is to make the endpapers and cover.
Since I didn’t have the book for an exhibition but purely for myself, I decided not to bother with a hard cover, but used the cover of an old book of a suitable size.
After drying, the outer edge of the book block must be trimmed to align the sheets, make the endpaper and glue the cover.
We cut the edge of the book without removing it from the press, placing a piece of plywood for rigidity.
I made the flyleaf, again, from what was at hand - from thick business paper (where business cards were printed) - 2 A4 sheets. Possibly from whatman paper.
Having folded the sheets of paper in half, I glued them like this: the first spread with one side in the first sheet of the book (and the second side for gluing to the cover, we will glue it a little later). I did the same with the last spread of the book.
What was printed on business card paper went inside, so all this mess is not visible.
We wait a little for the glue to dry, then glue the cover.
We glue the spine, together with the first spread of the book, to the cover.
After all these manipulations, I put the book under a large stack of other books for several hours.
Dried! The book is ready!
The endpaper stuck well and evenly.
The cover says a lot...
It actually turned out pretty funny!
A book about forex trading, and on the cover there are inscriptions: “The pioneer’s library, personal happiness, etc...”
The cover is many years old...
I made the books about a year and a half ago from the date of publication.
Now on the Internet I meet more best ways book bindings, where the pages are printed with notebooks and then sewn together with thread. And this can also be done with your own hands at home.
The article “” describes in more detail how to make such a binding. I recommend reading it too. It also talks about making the cover for the book.
Alternatively, thin books can be made with soft covers and all the sheets can be stitched at once. I shot books up to 30 pages in 2 places with a construction stapler. It turned out not bad either.
Good evening.
Finally hot weather drove me home and had some time to write the next topic.
Of course, the result will be completely different from the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any decent material on hand that could be inserted into the softcover. But someone may find useful topics no less.
First, traditionally, a few words about fibers.
The fibers in office paper are arranged as shown in the photo. Why is it good? This is good because if we have a bunch of sheets, then when we sew them, our “book” will open and leaf through well, because the fibers of the paper will be located along the spine.
It should be noted that OpenOffice Writer has one very interesting function (I would be very grateful if someone wrote in the comments whether this is available in MS Word). He knows how to mirror fields. The picture will make it clearer:
This way, we can set the internal margins a little larger than the external ones, because we will need them for stitching.
We will need:
1. The sheets themselves (I took a blank from my old educational screw-up-not-terribly-sewn block).
2. Jigsaw. You can take a hacksaw with a thin blade. But a jigsaw gives an even thinner and more accurate cut. However, it will be difficult for them to cut a thick block.
3. The “two-pieces-of-wood-with-holes-fastened-with-two-bolts-with-wing-nuts” clamp, familiar to you from the first article.
And, perhaps, there is no way to do this without a clamp. Fortunately, all its components cost pennies.
We carefully collect our stack of sheets and clamp them between pieces of wood. The stack should protrude by 5-6 mm.
We take a jigsaw in our hands and saw. We need to make paired cuts in the shape of a split "V". In this case, my stack contains about 60 sheets and I make cuts to a depth of 3-4 mm. If the stack is larger, then we cut a little deeper - 4-5 mm (remember to set the internal margins a little larger!). On long side A sheet of A4 format will be enough for 6 paired cuts.
Now we have a stack of sheets with cuts. We take nylon thread - it is thin and durable. Using the cuts as wedges, we connect the sheets into one block.
We coat the end with glue, making sure that the glue gets into the cuts. We clamp the block between the pieces of wood (do not forget to lay blank sheets so that the block does not stick to the press). We wait until it dries. If necessary, trim the edges as described in the link above.
This turns out to be a reversal.
If this is too difficult, then take a sheet of Whatman paper. In a familiar printing house, we ask you to make a creasing (punching a groove) according to the measurements from the article and glue the cover from whatman paper.
The maximum number of sheets that I have sewn together in this way is about 130. The block opens easily and is quite strong. Of course, if such a block is purposefully destroyed, it will collapse. But just reading is very comfortable. About large quantity I won’t tell you the sheets - I’m afraid to lie.
Good books, high-quality pdfs and pleasant reading!
