Definitely stick with the PVA options. Other glues, while they might appear to be OK from the outset, can turn into a nightmare as they age. Definitely stay away from hotglues. I’ve found that entire books will just pop away from their cases when this type of glue is employed. Various other kinds of glue become brittle and will crack at weak points over time.

Audra,

Thanks for sharing your experience. PVA is the primary solution I have chosen for my own work for the same reasons you have stated.

Hot glues are usually used in the commercial binding industry and they combine it with spine roughening before the glue is applied to create more surface area for the glue to bind too. My main problem with hot glues is the difficulty of creating an even application of glue without making a huge mess.

PUR glues seem to have all of the key properties of a good binding glue, I just haven’t had a chance to experiment with it yet.

Andrew

[...] Wait a few minutes and apply a second coat then let everything dry thoroughly.***Check out the Glue Options for Perfect Bound Paperback Books article for more information on choosing the right glue for the [...]

Thanks for the tip! I could use this for matting photography as well.

I want to buy your book. However the paypal did not allow it. How can I purchase this book?

Hi, thanks for the tips on glue.
As I live in Scandinavia some of the brands you name is unknown to me. But I did find some PVA based carpenter glue in my basement that worked perfectly. The brand was Evonor 620, very flixible and strong plus its fast drying. It did however make a mess of my cotton swab so I think I’ll get a paintbrush for my next book binding.

In your video tutorial in bookbinding part 1, you mention that you used a 5 minute epoxy. What brand did/do you use or does not matter? Have you experienced any problems other than the need to get the job done quickly?

Jim,

I didn’t seek out any specific brand of 5 minute epoxy (I just used some that was left over from another household project.)

My main reason for choosing this glue was speed and convenience.

The books made with this glue continue to hold up well and I can’t say that I’ve had any problems with them. The short working time is the main issue I’ve experienced.

Andrew

Hi,
regarding hot melt glue for DIY paper back books: I do this all the time and with great results and it’s much quicker than with cold glues and just as strong.
First I use a glue gun to apply the glue across the tightly clamped book block (spine). With a sharpened spatula I then cut off the excess of glue on both sides of the block. Then I insert the block into the prepared cover and place both on the hot plate which is made of an aluminum plate sitting on a heating element from an electric cook stove.
All I have to do now is to watch both ends of the book so that the hot and liquid glue does not run out of the spine. When the glue becomes visible on both ends, I take the book off the heating plate and place it on a similar plate that acts as a heat sink.
Works all the time and there is no deformation or any other blemish on the spine.

Walter,

Thanks for sharing your gluing technique. My own experiences with a glue gun were not as successful.

If I had the space to setup something like the heating plate you described, I might have better luck. Cold glues are a better option for me right now.

Andrew

For paperbacks I use hotmelt glue and a hot air gun.

Use the airflow and a stick to guide the glue when melted. When the glue covers the entire spine, i put a piece of fabric over, this fabric also secures the front and back cardboard.
Usually takes me 10 minutes to glue a book.
I have had no loose pages, even after numerous re-reads or lookups.

Michael,

Thanks for the detailed explanation of your technique.

Another variation of hotgluing that I’ve come across involves using an electric hotplate to melt the glue in a pan and then dipping the book spine into the melted glue.

That approach would give a nice even coating of glue. I haven’t tried it, but it sounds promising.

Andrew

Thank-you so much for all the information. How do you print double sided pages using Photoshop or InDesign?

Hi there

I’m about to make my own book cover for the first time according to all the info I got here, here’s to hoping it turns out well! I’m in south africa and we have loads of hardware stores and loads of glue brands etc, so I hope I make the correct choice. I’ll stick with a PVA glue, sounds like the easiest option even if it takes a while to dry, I have loads of time.

Thanks for all the tips, I really appreciate it!!

Regards
Anco

Anco,

Glad you like the site. Good luck with your book project.

Andrew

:),

I print double sided pages by printing all of the odd pages first (the print dialog box has an option for this) and then flipping the stack and printing the even pages on the opposite side. Nothing fancy.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew. I stumbled on your site looking for more tips on binding. I started with recycling paper to make note pads. (Just hate the amount of paper wasted at office Especially when there are reams of perfectly good scribbling paper tossed out.)

Of glues, I have to agree with most that was said. The fast contact glues make quick bind–but brittle–and these snap easy. PVA is definitely much better. I used steel rulers before to hold the pages together, but found wood was better as it does not bend or buckle.

A trick I tried to strengthen the spine works great, and now I use it all the time for books I want to keep. It involves stitching the end of the perfect bind. To do this, slip a piece of thread in between the pages before clamping them down. Now before applying the glue, cut notches (a mm deep) in the spine (to form sort of a ladder pattern on the back). Run the thread in a figure-of-eight fashion along the spine. You can pull the thread real tight if you have clamped it well. Glue as before. I find the thread gives the pages a little more to hang on to. It also stops the spine from splitting apart when you spread the book open.

A couple of other things to try to get a nice even spine–press cheese cloth or a ribbon over the spine after you even out the glue. I particularly like this when I am attaching a hard cover, or even an extra thick cover. Keeping an extra inch of cloth over the edge, allows me to have something extra to stick the cover on to–making sure that the cover also does not come loose.

Louis,

Thanks for the tips.

I’ve seen several people use notches along the spine to create extra surface for the glue to attach - but the thread is new to me. If you have a photo(s) of this, I’d love to post it.

The cheesecloth trick is something I’ve also used for hardcovers. You are right, it works very well.

Andrew

Hotglues are no good. Even after you finally get them on they don’t seem to penetrate into the paper and chunks eventually break off when you try to read the book. I’m trying to find a glue which has archival quality i.e. it won’t discolor the pages or turn yellow after 10 or 15 years.

John,

Hot glues are the norm in the professional binding world, and they almost always rough the spine before applying the glue to provide better adhesion.

If you want archival quality, it’s best to stick with PVA glues. You should also consider fanning the spine as you apply the glue to allow for it to work around the edges of the paper.

This takes time, but the results are more durable.

Andrew

I would stick with PVA for sure. Does anyone know approximately how much glue (in ounces?) you would typically use on a book. I’m trying to price out the cost of materials for a book I plan on creating myself by hand (there won’t be a large number of ‘orders’). The book’s spine is about an inch and a half to two inches thick and 11 inches long. I was estimating about one ounce, but I’m not sure if I’m way off or not.

I did a Google search, but could not find a vendor for PUR glue. I found lots of articles, but now here I could buy it…does anyone know a brand name I can search for? I searched Home Depot’s site and did not see it there. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Hi. Thanks for the great information.

I’m still just researching this stuff and have not tried my hand at it (yet).

My understanding was that Gorilla Glue is, in fact, PUR glue. Is this wrong?

Thanks again for your great site.

-John

Hi.

Me again, sorry. I’ve just been hitting the search engines on this. There is something called flexible 2-part epoxy out there. I’m wondering how well it would work. I haven’t found anything about using it for bookbinding.

Have you ever heard of these new “flexibilzed” epoxies being used for bookbinding?

I’ll keep looking around…

-John

Hey Andrew thanks for the info, I’m about to bind my first (of many) books and I can’t wait to try my hand at it! As you can probably tell, I’m rather excited.

Thanks again

For what it’s worth, I too, make scratch pads from used computer paper. I use the liquid products made for coating tool handles (like pliers). “Plasti-dip” is one brand.

I have a comment and a question if anyone can help.

I just finished my first bookbinding project with great success so far. I have 4 books that I have to complete for members of my family as christmas gifts. The book is a compilation of all our family photos over the many years. Seems to be a great way to collect all the family photos, newspaper articles etc. Each book is identical with them being about 1″ in total thickness, and of a size of 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ (half sheets for economy). I made the jig as indicated in the video, which will be “a must” assembly tool for anyone who wants to publish and assemble a book.

My materials and tools are: PRINTSHOP PROFESSIONAL graphics publisher, Cannon pixma 9000 photo printer (ink jet), dual side matt finish photo paper, Kite cord string, 5 minute epoxy, super thin CA instant glue, the assembly jig, plenty of the 8 ink cartridges for printing, .60 thick plastic cut to fit for the back spine, Dremil rotary hand tool with cut off wheel(home depot).

Before starting, I read Louis’s comment of august 5 regarding the cutting of grooves in the spine to reinforce, and anchor the pages better, and having an engineering background this seemed impressive to me as this process give more of mechanical attachment than just relying on the glue. He is “right on” with this process, as I feel that rather to have a flexible spine, I would rather create a stiff one where no flexing can take place. This was the reason for adding the flat plastic spine backing prior to putting on the final cover.

All has gone better than I imagined with only a couple issues at this point, which steers me into the question that I have regarding the paper stock. I am presently using 47 pound double sided matt photo paper. It makes for wonderful quality pages, but they are fairly thick for booklet pages. I cant find any other thinner photo sheets for two sided printing with a ink jet printer. I think that Ideally the sheets should be about 25 pound (6 mil thickness approx). I am wondering if the major issue is 2 sided printing with photos and the concern of ink bleed thru on thinner paper. My research on the I-net has turned up nothing on the subject. I am wondering what the thinnest paper I can use for this “typical” project with my equipment. I know that a laser jet for book publishing is probably the better way to go as it thermally sets the ink so that it is more durable and long term, but this is what I have at present.

I have made progress pictures so far that I think could be of good use to those that are also involved with book binding. I know that there is much discussion regarding glues and proceedures, but I am convinced that the epoxy/rigid spine is the way to go. I am more apt to go this direction due to many years of R/C airplane involement. The epoxy and the reinforced spine will not allow the pages to ever shift.

If possible I can post these pictures or those interested can contact me.

Thanks for the all the suggestions so far on your website.

Airplane Bill

Are there any good DYI videos on binding a hard cover book without stitching? I was hoping to find a simple way to bind hard covers without all the hassle. Similar to binding paperback books by the glue method. Bob

Just a quick thanks… I have a small book (15 pages) to bind and the hot glue worked just perfect. It was quick and easy. I will try the cloth and cheesecloth as noted above.

Airplane Bill,

Your project sounds awesome - just the perfect sort of DIY binding project in my opinion. The people receiving the books will appreciate both the content and the craftsmanship you put into them.

When printing photos with inkjet printers, bleed-through is always a big concern. I’ve used color laser printers as well and they have two downsides. First, they don’t reproduce the color as well as a good inkjet (which might be a problem for a photo book). Second, because of the way the toner bonds to the paper, it is possible for it to flake off with repeated bending of the pages. Laser print bonds to the surface of the paper - inkjet print soaks into the fibers (hence the tendency for bleed-through.)

Everything involved is a trade-off, so pick the options that create the best results for your goals.

Cutting grooves in the spine is an excellent method of increasing the surface area for the glue to bond with. Professional binding machines have a grinder which ‘roughens’ the spine before applying the glue. This has the effect of breaking-up the fibers in the paper to create more surface area for the glue to bond too. Same basic idea.

If you want to add a grinding step to your gluing process, try an electric sander with a 150-200 grit paper. A quick pass across the spine should do the trick and make your spines much stronger.

You state a few times that you want rigid spines for your books. But, that can backfire. Book spines have to flex in order for the pages to open and be read. Stiff spines encourage readers to press open the pages to ‘break the binding’ a little so the book will open up. With a stiff spine, this can shatter the glue.

In the long run, choosing flexible glues will create the most lasting glued spines.

If you want to share photos of your project, there is a special area for just that over on the DISCUSSION FORUM:

http://www.diybookforum.com/members-showcase/

I’d love to see your results!

Andrew

Does your technique for binding only work on folded 8.5 x 11 sheets for a 5.5 x 8.5 book? Or can this also be used for books made from flat 8.5 x 11 sheets? Is having the spine made up of folded edges the reason this binding works? If I want a 8.5 x 11 book would I have to print it on 11 x 17 and then fold it? Or can I just set 8.5 x 11 sheets next to each other and glue them like your tutorial says?

Does your system of binding only work for sheets that have been folded and glued along the folded edge? Can you glue along unfolded edges, binding unfolded sheets that just lay in a stack?

Just a note: a long time ago, I started reparing books using a formula I got from an even older edition of Popular Science (or Popular Mechanics, or Mechanix illus…); it’s basically just white glue with some glycerine thrown in. The White glue’s strength and ability to bond doesn’t seem to be affected but the glycerin keeps it soft and pliable so it has less tendancy to EVER get brittle and break up.