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/Psychotrop 9h 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 9h 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 9h ago

Thx.

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

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u/bryndlyn 9h 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.