DIY Bookbinding

2 DIY BOOKBINDING

Print Pages or Strip the Existing Cover

Before you can begin binding, you’ll first need to print this 32-page article or remove the

cover and glued spine of a perfect-bound magazine. I found that MAKE’s cover could be

pulled away cleanly by applying gentle but heavy pressure where the cover meets the spine.

If you’re printing this article on your home printer, you’ll

have 32 pages on 16 leaves (assuming you’re printing on

both sides of the paper). If you’re stripping a cover from a

magazine you own, use a utility knife and a heavy ruler (a

carpenter’s square is ideal) to cut about

1

/8" from the spine

(or as far in as it takes to clear the thickness of the glue).

The issue of MAKE magazine used as an example in this

article has 192 loose pages, or 96 leaves.

Regardless of the magazine you might be binding, it’s likely

that its pages can be divided into even groups of 16 or 32

pages (similarly, it’s no coincidence that this article is 32

pages long). Because of the way books and magazines are

produced (many pages are printed on large sheets, which

are then folded and cut as a group), it’s more cost efficient

to keep the page count to a number that is divisible by a

standard number of pages for a pass on the printer (like

this booklet, for example). Even if the magazine ends up

being perfect bound, the publisher doesn’t want to waste

any pages for a pass the printer’ ...