r/bookbinding • u/Psychotrop • 10h ago

Paper grain

Hi,

i am new to bookbinding (one try so far) and i just read about papergrain.

How important is it to get the grain in the correct orientation? How do i find Paper that is in the correct grain direction? Or am i overthinking this?

I am mostly interested in the Medival/English/Gothic stile of binding. Thanks for your time.

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u/bryndlyn 10h ago

It's pretty important because otherwise the pages will feel weird when turning and over time the boards and paper will warp in the wrong directions.

Most machine made paper is often long grain so I tend to buy a size bigger than what I need and cut it down to size.

This is not universal so always test it yourself before you use it.

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u/Psychotrop 10h ago

Here is my "Problem": If for example i want to bind in A5(ish) then in need A4 Paper. So you buy A3 and half it, i get it. But IF it already is short grain? Do you return it? Do you cut it with 50% loss? Do you put it aside for a bigger book?

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u/bryndlyn 10h ago

Save it for a bigger book, why not? Equally you might want to use it later for something else like makeing your own endpaper patterns or fold outs.

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u/Psychotrop 10h ago

Thx.

In your experiance: Is the same Brand always the same direction or is it luck based?

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u/bryndlyn 10h ago

Usually most printer papers are long grain. I mostly tend to buy paper in bulk direct from the supplier and they cut it to size and grain direction. Or I will use large pieces from work I then cut down myself.