There is no easy bookbinding tutorial that tops the simplicity of my very first project. This video uses nothing more than a bottle of glue, two paint stirring sticks, a few binder clamps, and a couple cotton swabs to get the job done (the sandpaper is optional!)

The methods taught at www.GoEasyBook.com might be more thorough and deliver more professional results, but these get the job done!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbK0mQyj930

You've got no excuses now! If my low rent solution works, anyone can make a paperback book!

Andrew

Thanks for the tip! I will definitely give this a try!! 

mikiwhb,

I don't think there is a built-in function for reverse printing of pages in CUTE PDF, but here is a workaround you might try:

Open the file you are planning to print and print it out to PDF in reverse page order. This should result in a new PDF file that starts with the last page and ends with the first (in western style - that is.)

Next, convert the new PDF into booklet form and print.

I've not tried this, but I would expect the resulting book to open from left to right.

Andrew

Hi! I was wondering if the CutePDF prgram allow you to arrange the book pages so that they could be read from right to left?  i have some chinese e books that i want to print but the way the pages are is you open the book from the left and read the pages from the right side first...  i hope this makes sense... its the total opposite of the american books!!

I am sure it is possible to use binders board for covers for a Wiremac bound book, but any tips on how I could punch the holes in the board?  I am afraid I would damage the punch on the Akiles unit - is it tough enough to punch board?  Are there any other compatible punches I could use or am I stuck with using flimsy plastic covers?

Thanks

Here's a cheap and easy way to 'get the word out' about your book project - Vehicle Magnets.

My friend, Christy English, is promoting her new book: "The Queen's Pawn." She went the traditional route and published with a division of Penguin Publishing, but now that the book is in stores, she's on the road promoting it and building an audience for her second novel.

She's touring the country doing book signings and going to publishing industry events to build momentum for sales. She's got a bunch of promotional materials like bookmarks and flyers to pass around, but the thing that caught my eye was a pair of magnetic car signs that looked like this:



After some quick research, I discovered that similar signs can be created for about $10 US per sign. VistaPrint even offers a basic free magnetic car sign (on their homepage, the free sign offer is listed on the left side under the "Free Products" section.)

If you, a spouse, a friend, or a family member spend a lot of time on the road, this low-cost advertising can really pay off. It might even be worthwhile to recruit a few 'heavy drivers' to get the word out.

Your best approach is to get a unique domain name for each car (so you can track results) and drive people to a website where you can get them onto an email list first. Then, promote your book to them.

If you've got any stories or ideas to share about this marketing tactic, post them. If you create/d a magnetic sign for your book, take a picture of it on your car and post it.

Andrew

I think stapling your signatures together is a fine compromise - but I would be more likely to do the stapling by hand with a booklet stapler and place the flat part of the staple on the inside of the fold.

My logic is this: the inside of the book will be a lot cleaner looking with the flat part of the staple inside the fold. You would be hard pressed to see it if you didn't know to look for it. The other reason is because the curled-over portion of the staple will be on the spine, which gives a little bit of a gap to run the thread through when you join the signatures together.

Make sure to post up a few pictures on this thread when you settle on your solution and let us know thing worked out for you.

Andrew

I'd love to smyth-sew my books for durablility & laying flat ability but it takes too long unless I get an expensive machine, so I was thinking of maybe getting an automatic paper folding machine that can staple into booklets as well (like this one www.unicorn.net.au/products/19/54/664).
I would then quickly sew the stapled booklets to make a book block, then have a traditional cover to look nice  What do you think?
I want to find a way of making the books quickly but still look very traditional -is it possible?  
PS. would need to use stainless steel staples for durability

VTBinder,

Your solution to paper grain issues is what I usually recommend - cut down 11x17 sheets. Short of ordering paper by the roll and custom-cutting it, there aren't too many other options.

To reduce the risk of your printer jamming while running a duplex job, you might want to print the sides in 2 passes. This would give time for the paper to cool between sides and minimize the chances of jamming the printer.

For the DIY bookbinder, the print options are limited as well. Laser toner rests on the surface of the paper and is prone to flaking off over time. Inkjet print tends to bleed a little (causing edges to get a little fuzzy), is slow to print, and is not water proof.

If long-term/archival print quality is an important concern for you, then you'll need to budget for an offset printer to print your pages (or if you are REALLY adventurous, create your own offset press.)

I've printed books on laser printers and dragged them all over the place in cars, on airplanes, in subways, and never experienced any problems with toner dropout. I have had lots of problems with a drop of water causing the print to bleed on an inkjet printed page. So, I'd favor the laser printer option personally.

Andrew Seltz

Hi Andrew,

CutePDF works pretty well. After a couple of trials and errors, I was able to print my first booklet. I also played around with the settings to print book signatures (which also works well). While this shows it is possible to print booklets and books at home, I have some concerns which cannot easily be overlooked. They are:

1) The effect of paper grain when using letter sized paper.
2) The suitability of laser toner for document longevity.

For paper grain, I have learned that the grain needs to run parallel to the binding of the book. Otherwise the pages will be difficult to turn and may even close on their own (mousetrapping). Given this information, I have concluded using common letterhead (8.5 x 11) sized laser/copier paper is not a good idea if the intention is to fold it in half to make 5.5 x 8.5 signatures. The reason is the grain would then be running in the wrong direction.

A better solution (for 5.5 x 8.5 signatures) would be to take sheets of 11 x 17 paper, cut them in half, then run them through the laser printer. This too is not without it's problems because the laser printer may jam while duplexing due to excessive paper curling. In fact, laser printer manufactures warn not to use grain short paper for this very reason.

I would be curious how people have dealt with this issue.

As for toner longevity, consider the following article: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/r-evans4/www/toner.html

In a nutshell it discusses the problems laser toner may experience if exposed to too much humidity or excessive temperatures. An example would be leaving a laser printed book in a car on a hot summer day. Doing so, may cause the pages to stick together or the toner to flake off the pages. Even sending a home printed booklet in the mail to a friend may result in problems.

Again, I would be interested in hearing how people have dealt with these kinds of issues.

vtbinder