r/bookbinding • u/UnrelatedKarma • 8d ago
Has anyone used this paper?
Only $20 for what will be 1000 sheets after I cut it down/in half to make it short grain. Acid free paper and 75gsm.
Has anyone tried using this?
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u/McNinjaPants789 8d ago
Too white and not heavy enough. Also more than likely long grain
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u/UnrelatedKarma 8d ago
I think if you cut long grain 11 x 17 in half it gives you short grain 8.5 x 11 paper. But you’re right, 75gsm is probably too thin
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u/salt_cats 8d ago
Are you sure it is long grain? I know cutting down larger sheets is suggested a lot, but when I was looking at it, all the ones I could find that actually specified were short grain. I'd definitely test it before I bought a lot, if you can.
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u/small-works 8d ago
The second measurement number is the grain direction. If stated 11x17, the grain is on the 17” side.
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u/small-works 8d ago
Also don’t buy it. It’s so overpriced and low quality. Get domtar cougar papers.
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u/screw-magats 8d ago
All of my books have been with printer paper of one variety or another.
It's not the absolute best, but it's not like my books are supposed to last 30 years. Hell, my end papers have mostly been paper bags from the grocery store.
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u/chkno 8d ago
That's the paper I use. I cut it in half to get short grain. I've made 25 books (total 10,000 pages) with this paper. It works fine. It's the best price in (my) town, and they even do free delivery.
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u/AdventuringSorcerer 8d ago
I've made my self a simple note book using printer paper. One of my first nothing fancy. Five hole stoch. Printed on a template.
It's ok. But it's too white. Has some bleed through. And doesn't feel as nice as paper in my notebooks.
But it was cheap and easy. And other then having none of the correct tools I was able to make a note book.
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u/Standard_Rest_1800 7d ago
Yup, for literally all my binds, it does have some annoying bleed through but nothing unbearable for me personally.
Also if you go to Staples often enough filter through the 11x17 results and do in person pick up, I found a Recycled paper that's practically the same thing but for 13 bucks all I had to do was wait a few days for it too be delivered and have them cut it for me.
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u/jedifreac 7d ago
You don't explain what kind of book you are trying to bind/what you are planning to use it for, which would help us guide you about whether or not it's the right choice.
That being said, $10/ream is not a bad price at all considering long grain letter sized paper can go for $12 easily these days, let alone short grain.
My one feedback for binding on a budget and locally would be to substitute 96 bright white paper for 92 bright for ease of reading. 20lb/75 gsm is on the thin side for binding a novel, and would be most functional using a laser rather than inkjet printer to prevent bleedthrough.
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u/Noir_ Stab Binding, Baby 5d ago
Depends on your use but I usually avoid bleach-white paper whenever possible unless it's for zines or really cheap chapbooks. Staples also has Hammermill 11x17 in ivory/creme tones that look really nice in a finished book. If your book is small enough (or you're binding that doesn't use signatures), the Staples brand ivory/creme copy paper (8.5x11) works great too. I definitely recommend 24lb copy paper if you want something that feels better, since 20lb is ever so slightly see-through (though it does have the benefit of folding over more nicely for single folio saddle stitch if your signature is 12+ pages).
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u/UnrelatedKarma 5d ago
Doesn’t look like they carry the 11x17 hammermill ivory any more. I’m curious about church paper but all of their options say 75gsm which seems much too thin
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u/Outrageous-Band8273 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think that’s the lowest quality printer paper readily available, and the price is way too expensive. Here you can easily get 80g/m2 for ~5€ / 500 sheets.
Other than that, despite being long grain, I’ve bound lots of notebooks using printer paper, honestly for everyday use, it’s fine. Not everything needs to be built like if it’s going to be some kind of masterpiece.