Bookbinding Overview

Bookbinding is a not only a common hobby, but also for some people a wonderfully fulfilling trade that is practiced by thousands. There are few exercises that can blend a feel of the scholarly with the skills of a good handyman in one good artistic pursuit. This is why even in an age of machines and mass production, bookbinding remains a popular pursuit.

Some people first get into bookbinding to repair old books that have damaged spines. Others start from scratch because they want to put something original together. Whatever the reason or the way, there are many ways for people to start out with bookbinding.

Other easier ways are to just get the bookbinding supplies you need to create a newly bound book from scratch. This can go from the relatively common and easy spiral bound reports to even creating your own self-published hardcover books. There are many different types of bookbinding, and we are going to go over some of those in this article.

If you want to go back in history, the first type of bookbinding was Coptic bookbinding. This was named after the Coptic Christians in Egypt as far back as the 2nd century. This was done by taking sections of parchment, making small folds on each page, and stitching together through the folds. This method of bookbinding was used for nearly a full millennium.

Long stitch bookbinding came next, and is a method that is still used today. It’s important to note that “long stitch” methods of bookbinding don’t refer to just one practice, but can include a wide variety of methods, all of which have the one common element of stitching that goes through a slotted cover, reducing the need for any glue.

While it might not be what you think of when you normally think of bookbinding, spiral bookbinding might very well be the most used method in the world. This is the type of binding that takes place for spiral bound reports, school histories, or even local cookbooks. Also referred to sometimes as “plastic coil bookbinding.”

These are just a few of the styles and methods that are available when it comes to bookbinding. Do a little research, find a good how to book or a mentor, and dive in! You might find that this is the hobby you’ve been looking for all along.

If you want to learn more about book binding, please have a look at this page covering a wide range of topics, including wire book binding.