From a Binder's Point of View

FROM A BINDER’S POINT OF VIEW: SOME ADVICE FOR INDEPENDENT, DESKTOP PUBLISHERS Gregor R. Campbell : : Campbell-Logan Bindery : : Minneapolis Anyone can be a book publisher today. over the phone or in person to some- Machine Made Paper A great many desktop publishers one inquiring about our bookbinding The demand for paper, even today actually do generate books they will service by asking the broad question, remains unsatisfied. In the early 1800s wish to have bound. A review of our “How much does it cost to bind a paper was in very short supply. sales for 1996 showed that some 30% of book?” or “Can you bind this disk?” Machinery for making paper was sales were made to independent pub- The questions most often asked fall developed to satisfy growing demand. lishers, not library customers. This did into three main categories. The most successful and prolific of not happen by accident. We have taken • Paper these machines is known as the a strong marketing approach to attract • Printing formats Foudrinier papermaking machine. The such new business. When dealing with • Binding Fourdrinier is a great, long, ponderous, a first time publisher, we have learned steaming piece of machinery that Dard that a good deal of flexibility, patience, PAPER Hunter once described as “dragon and the development of retail sales The paper chosen for any printing like.” Fourdriniers are capable of pro- skills are necessary. project may be the most crucial deci- ducing continuous streams of paper, Book production is a very technical sion to make. Decisions about paper over 300 inches wide, at more than business. Most of the general public will not only affect the printing but will 2000 feet a minute! has little knowledge of what is affect how a book may be bound. As the still liquid paper is spit from required to produce a book purchased Because of this, there is a heavy con- the Fourdrinier machine in one forceful at the local bookstore. Few have any centration on the subject. direction, the pulp fibers line up paral- knowledge of book design or would lel to each other in the long direction grasp that there may be a vast differ- Handmade Paper they are being driven, much like water ence between the concept of “camera Prior to 1830, all paper was made droplets streaming from a garden hose. ready” copy and copy that is ready to by hand from plant fiber such as cot- As paper comes off a Fourdrinier print. Fewer still have any idea of how ton, linen, flax, straw, hemp, or kozo. machine, it travels through a series of decisions they make about printing Plant fibers were torn or, if in the form both horizontal and vertical rollers. It is will affect various binding options. of rags, cut up. These shreds are then stretched, dried and rewound. It is then If, by lucky accident, a new, inde- beaten into pulp fibers and placed into colored and coated with agents such as pendent publisher should find some- a vat of water allowing the fibers to clay, chalk, caesin, and various resins. one with enough time and book design float to the surface. A screen that is Finally, it travels to a calendar or finish- knowledge to help them achieve their woven tightly enough to catch pulp ing machine that puts artificial textures goals they are very fortunate. If not, fibers but open enough to allow water into the paper. they may make any number of costly to escape is dipped into the vat. As the mistakes. screen is raised the fibers trapped on Common Book Paper Having been involved in the busi- top formed the sheet of paper. Classifications ness of bookbinding for some 30 years I In hand papermaking, the size of In general, paper used for books feel just barely confident enough to the screen is determined by the size of comes in either text weight or cover offer some rudimentary advice about the sheet needed for any particular weight. Text weight paper (used for the book design and book structure to a papermaking project and the strength printed pages of the text) comes in four beginner. The first bit of advice I offer is of the papermaker to lift the screen main weights: 50-pound, 60-pound, 70- that I won’t have all the answers for from the water. Hand papermaking is pound, and 80-pound. you. The information I am offering is hard, laborious work with very little Cover weight paper (used for print- gleaned from practical experience and mechanical assistance. As such, one of ing paperback book covers, magazine is geared toward desktop publishers the beauties of handmade paper is that covers, etc.) is approximately three who are seeking hardcover binding there is no discernible, machine-made, times thicker or heavier than text solutions. It is advice that is often given grain direction to its fibers. weight paper of the same poundage. 1 of 4 Standard cover weight paper comes in inch size has become much more com- Typefaces 65-pound, 70-pound, 80-pound, and mon, as you can print two pages at a Thankfully, for the desktop pub- sometimes 100-pound weights. There time on a standard 81/2 x 11 sheet of lisher, computer type has come a long would be, however, approximately one paper. way from the days when typefaces third the number of sheets of 70-pound were limited to what was easily dis- cover stock in a carton as there would Book Design played on a computer screen. There are be in a carton of 70-pound text weight When pages are printed on both now thousands of typefaces to choose paper. sides there is the possibility of “show- from. Each one has its own character. Both text and cover weight papers through” or bleed-through problems. While hundreds of books have been come in coated and uncoated versions This is the dark shadow from type or written about type and book design, for various uses. an illustration that shows through from the choice of which face to use is most the reverse side of the sheet. This is often made by either a typeface’s avail- Grain direction caused by the fact that the paper is not ability or personal preference. Machine made paper, like wood, opaque enough to mask out the image. Typefaces fall into two main cate- has a grain direction which should be Ideally, printing that is done on gories: serif or sans serif type. Serif type taken into account when choosing both sides of the page should “back has little feet on the letters. This article paper for a book. If the paper grain is up” or have its shadow hidden by is written in a serif typeface. Serif type- not parallel to the spine, the book’s printing that is done on the reverse or faces are considered easier to read pages will not turn easily or lie flat. opposite side of the page. This prevents (as text) than sans serif. Sans serif type Folding a sheet of paper across the show-through and gives a crisp, clean is more often used as a headline or grain will break approximately 50% of look to the page. chapter heading. the paper fibers, weakening the sheet If show-through problems persist substantially. Additionally, cross-grain we advise against the natural inclina- Page Margins paper is strangely hydroscopic. It will tion of choosing a heavier weight Page margins and choosing propor- absorb moisture from adhesives at a paper for the text, especially cover tions within a page are very important much faster rate, causing “cockling” stock! Heavier paper will only resist design elements. It is a basic principle and warpage. opening and easy reading. Try choos- of book design that typographic areas Grain direction of paper is almost ing a text weight paper of another color will generally occur within the same always “with” the longest dimensions such as off-white or light gray. rectangular space, in the same position, The paper merchant’s catalog desig- After decisions about paper have throughout a book. The “white space” nates grain direction with a small been made, the next most important around the typographic area frames underline below the number (such as consideration should be what typeface the text on a page much like a mat 25 x 38 inches). and what size type to use. Obviously, it frames a picture. In book design the old is best to use a size of type that is easy classic standard was one-third black Paper Sizes to read. For text generated by word space to two-thirds white space. This In the US, paper that is sheeted for processor or computer these sizes made for eye appeal and easy reading. the printing trade, either text weight or would normally be 10 point, 12 point, As paper and printing costs have cover weight, comes in standard sizes. and 14 point. escalated this rule has been sacrificed. Standard sizes for text weight paper in We would urge you to resist the Margins have become narrower and inches are 25 x 38, 35 x 40, and 38x 50. temptation to reduce the size of the narrower. As a general rule, and if at Standard sizes for cover weight paper typeface by photocopy reduction. This all possible, we recommend a one-inch are 23 x 35, 25 x 38, 26 x 40 and 35 x 45. will only make the text more difficult to all around page margin for desktop read. It is preferable to add additional publishing.

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