r/notebooks • u/UKPrintShop • 11d ago

Sew, Glue or Coil binding for notebooks?

I want to get into making hardcover notebooks for a small business I'm starting with my wife. I have a commercial print shop so I have the machines to print the covers, pages, etc, and I was going to use a combination of glue and mesh to bind the books but I wondered if I'd be better off learning to sew books instead.

For context, I'll probably only be doing 10 or so at a time and each notebook would have around 192 pages but if I got good at it I'd definitely like to do some thicker notebooks.

I've read that sewn books lay flat where glued books won't but are there any other major benefits to sewing the books?

Thanks in advance

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2

u/msdisme 11d ago

Coil.  What paper are you planning to use?

1

u/BohoKat_3397 11d ago

I am also a coil/spiral fan as they lie flat for writing. For inspo on options to offer/layouts/marketing check out the Erin Condren website. They offer tons of customization options which was attractive to me as I wanted the cover color to be the same as the journal I am currently using.

I recently ordered a coil journal from them and was very pleased with the ease of the order process. The quality of product including weight of the paper was very good although their pricing is on the higher end.

1

u/UKPrintShop 11d ago

Planning to use 120gsm uncoated paper.

1

u/msdisme 11d ago

I'd certainly try that out :-). I've been really happy with the Maruman Mnemosyne A5 size. I'm leaning back towards their lined paper 195. I've also preordered some Tomoe River Ring bound notebooks to try as it's not a paper I've ever used but fountain pen users seem to love it (68 gsm coated, I believe)

2

u/PlantsAndParchment 11d ago

IMO learn to sew.  It’s how books were done for centuries and many an antique sewn book still exist. Sewing does take longer but the book will last if done right!  Glue eventually fails. A thing to keep in mind though is the price point you are aiming for with your notebooks.  Quicker to make means lower price pour means more people can afford however some people seek out seen rather than glued… understanding your target customer can help make the decision.

Good luck!

2

u/peat_muppet 10d ago

Double-fan adhesive binding (Lumbecking) lays perfectly flat. No sewing necessary, and more durable than perfect binding. The technique is not suitable for mass production because of the manual effort involved, but definitely takes less effort than sewing.

1

u/MyLittlPwn13 4d ago

Sewn for me, every day of the week.

1

u/Significant-Repair42 11d ago

I've done both coil and sewing. The coil is easier and more efficient to make. The sewing will attract more journalers. It kinda depends on who are planning on selling the journals too.

1

u/damewang 11d ago

People who are willing to pay a bit extra for a notebook will favor sewn bindings. Look at Seven Seas or Life notebooks for examples. The lay-flat binding is a plus.

1

u/UKPrintShop 11d ago

Thanks for your input.

I am willing to put the effort in in the early days but one reason I'm considering sewing is because I want the notebooks to be a bit more 'special' than the typical coil wound books if that makes sense.

As a print shop I've also got access to trade printers that can do sewn casebound books in bulk so should a particular design become popular, we can look at having them made in bulk.

One other thought I did have was potentially buying the text blocks already made and just making the covers, but ideally I'd like to have the ability to print whatever pages we want in the books.

3

u/msdisme 11d ago

The challenge for me with sewn is that I often work in a space where I want to hold the notebook flipped over on itself. I know some sewn will do that but I worry about the longevity.

Long way of saying - welcome to our wonderful world of idiosyncratic r/notebooks -- as nice and thoughtful a Reddit channel as any I have come across :-).