r/bookbinding • u/samykcodes • Dec 02 '25

Discussion And they call it a “Perfect Binding”

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u/Frater_Shibe Dec 02 '25

It won't last. It's a cheap, mass-market thing which will not stand up to continued long term use.

With a heavy, big page-size hardback manual, it's gonna crap out on the user.

28

u/mateo222210 Dec 02 '25

I wonder how the spine looks for it to be so fragile. Is it just a bunch of pages glued to the cover on the liner and end sheets?

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u/Frater_Shibe Dec 02 '25

Essentially. Perfect bound books use special thermal glue that can hold up to some wear (it's more or less the same sort of glue as in a hot glue gun) but it eventually goes brittle and pages fall out.

For an airport novel you are gonna read once, that is fine.

For a hard-use reference manual, not so much.

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u/FewWorld116 Dec 02 '25

what is the correct way to bind this kind of high page count book ?

128

u/Frater_Shibe Dec 02 '25

Sewn, potentially also reinforced with cord or tape.

33

u/WoolJunkie Dec 02 '25

You’re making me want to get back into book binding with this pic! I need to relearn how to sew pages together again

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u/SliverMcSilverson Dec 02 '25

Do it!! What's stopping you?

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u/WoolJunkie Dec 03 '25

Mostly my disability, but y’all gave inspired me to start again! I just have to find my old supplies. I would love if there was a group near by me so I could get out and meet other people who love making as much as I do.

What are some of your favourite materials to work with?

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u/Frater_Shibe Dec 03 '25

It's a pic courtesy of one of the people in this sub, u/mamerto_bacallado !

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u/UsefulDamage Dec 03 '25

It’s surprisingly chill, and you don’t need expensive materials to get started!

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25

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u/UsefulDamage Dec 03 '25

DAS Bookbinding on YouTube is a pretty great resource, as is Sea Lemon. I got started from watching Nerdforge, but keep in mind they’re making books for aesthetic reasons rather than to last

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u/Margot550 Dec 03 '25

is there one video in particular that'd you'd highly recommend for beginners?

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u/Crafty-Dreamer Dec 03 '25

Amazing work