Bookbinding

[Xarpho's Return]

A less "paranoid" topic and more something for fun and DIY...what's the best way to go about binding your own books?

Right now I don't have a lot of resources to do so and there's a lot of cutting and gluing, but I'm wondering how one can go about making a "real" book from PDF or epub, especially for a book that's rare and doesn't have many print copies floating around, yet can't be republished easily because of copyright concerns.

 

[LowlyPheasent]

I prefer to opt for ringed binders in these types of cases. May want to hook yourself up with a laser printer to print the shit out in bulk. Book binding itself is a bit more involved and a pain in the ass.

 

[beets4borshenko]

I personally do not have hands-on experience with book-binding, but I do enjoy watching videos of it. I'd say there is a decent amount of information online if you're willing to go searching for it. YouTube, blogs, etc.

It sounds weird to say, but unironically, the fanfiction community online might be a good place for you to look. Some of these fans become so Autistically obsessed with their Wattpad slop that they print them out and bind them into nice hardcovers. They tend to be pretty DIY, just crafting from their own bedrooms, so they typically don't have the thousands of dollars of tools and contraptions that other book-binding YouTubers you'll see have. (For example, they'll use a thumbtack instead of an awl, etc.)

This video is a nice one. She goes over how to take an online text, format it using freely available software, print it out, sew it together into a text block, and attach it to a repurposed old hardcover case.

Also, dumping a couple things that might be useful:

Spoiler: some lingo

A link:

https://blog.papercraftpanda.com/glossary-of-bookbinding-terms-phrases/

An infographic:

Spoiler: types of bindings

Another infographic:

 

[Cirrhosis_of_Liver]

It fits with world-crumbling paranoia. After all, a well-made book with the right kind of paper or even parchment will last thousands of years longer than any digital medium.

"My Immortal" being the only voice from our era would be pretty funny.

 

[IdiotPlusPlus]

Right now I don't have a lot of resources to do so and there's a lot of cutting and gluing, but I'm wondering how one can go about making a "real" book from PDF or epub, especially for a book that's rare and doesn't have many print copies floating around, yet can't be republished easily because of copyright concerns.

If they are small the classic pamphlet only really requires centre staples, I can also recommend this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGuED0m51lc

I've done instruction manuals before, and since I didnt care about covers, there was no glue, just thread, needle and awl to join the sections and it still holds up lol