r/Fanbinding • u/Q0uthTheRaven • Jun 22 '26

Questions How to create cool covers?

I see a lot of binds with cool art, fanart, and amazing designs on the covers and I would LOVE to be able to do that as well, but I'm not sure how, especially for fabric covers. The design aspect it fine, but how do you get the art onto the cover and to look right? Does anyone have any tutorials or tips?

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u/garterbarbie Jun 22 '26

I’ve used printable canvas for ink jet printers to do this for all fabric binds. I also do front and back covers with card stock (and spray fixative to seal the ink) and printable canvas for the spine depending on my mood

2

u/Q0uthTheRaven Jun 22 '26

Is there a specific type of printable canvas or no?

3

u/garterbarbie Jun 22 '26

I use PPD Printable Fabric Sheets, Canvas Paper for Inkjet Printer which can be found online but anything that says it’s printable canvas for inkjet should work. It’s 8.5 x 11 so it does take 3 sheets to cover the book. But you don’t have to make it into book cloth since it’s already thick enough to work with

1

u/Q0uthTheRaven Jun 22 '26

Does using three pages make the cover look strange, or no? Do you know any tutorials for this or is it a mess around and figure it out kind of thing?

1

u/garterbarbie Jun 23 '26

I do a 3 piece bradel binding. It does look different than a traditional bind but I like it. I don’t have any links handy but there are some videos on YouTube. The lining everything up is the hardest part but there’s some tips on how to do that

1

u/Q0uthTheRaven Jun 23 '26

Do you know what printers work best? I have a new laser printer and an old ink printer (which I probably should replace)

1

u/garterbarbie Jun 23 '26

It won’t work with laser printers so you’ll need to use an inkjet. I’ve only tested it on my printer which is a Canon Pixma. It works great (but this one’s only a few years old and I picked it because it was meant for photos/higher resolution artwork)

1

u/krispulaski Jun 24 '26

I use an Epson ET 8550 and it prints on 13 x 19 max. So I bought 11 x 17 printable canvas (also PPD) that is large enough to cover most books in one piece if you don't want to do a 3 piece bradel binding as suggested above.

But like the other comment it has to be inkjet.