Just realized most people are over-gluing their book spines

I was at a workshop at the Printers Row bindery in Chicago last month, watching this older binder fix a 1950s encyclopedia with barely any PVA glue. She said most beginners drown their spines in adhesive and that's why the books crack after a year. Has anyone else found that using way less glue actually keeps the covers on tighter?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrewt4122d ago

Gently, capillary action isn't really a thing with PVA glue, it's way too thick for that. It's more about viscosity and surface tension, but you're totally right that less glue in the hinge area is the key.

hannah_williams18d ago

And here i thought i was being smart with my glue slathering technique, turns out i was just making stiff, crunchy book joints. So it's not about quantity, it's about being strategic with where you put the stuff? Great, now i have to actually think about the physics of glue instead of just squeezing it on like toothpaste. Feels like i need a degree in fluid dynamics just to keep a paperback from cracking. Guess i'll be the weirdo at the craft store carefully dabbing glue on the hinge while everyone else dumps it on the spine.

jake19122d ago

Oh man, that's a good point. I wonder if the over-gluing problem is actually about the type of glue too. Like, that PVA dries stiff and if you put a ton on, it doesn't just get on the spine but seeps into the hinge area and makes it brittle instead of flexible. Maybe the trick isn't just less glue but changing where you apply it entirely. I've seen people dab it only on the endpaper hinge and let capillary action pull it into the joint, instead of slathering the whole spine. That way the cover can still give a little when you open it.