I heard a binder at a fair say they never back their cloth with paper

I was at a small craft fair in Portland last month and got talking with another binder at their booth. They were showing off some really nice quarter-bound notebooks. I asked about their method for the cloth spines, and they flat out said, 'Oh, I never back the cloth with paper, it's a waste of time.' That stopped me cold. In my experience, skipping that backing paper, especially with lighter weight book cloth, is asking for trouble. The adhesive can bleed through and make a mess, and the cloth can stretch or bubble way easier during application. I've had it happen on a commission piece about six months ago, and I had to redo the whole cover. It added hours to the job. Maybe their specific cloth or glue works for them, but I'd hate for a beginner to hear that and think it's a standard shortcut. Has anyone else run into problems when they tried to skip that step?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliawalker2mo ago

asking for trouble" seems a bit strong lol. if their method works for them on those notebooks, it's not a universal rule.

-1

david_henderson62mo ago

Universal rule? More like a universal recipe for a blue screen of death.

phoenixgonzalez1mo ago

Exactly, I've gotten away with way sketchier stuff on old notebooks.