I’ve done this with a bunch of maps I made to make an atlas (vid on my channel if you are interested). Didn’t know about book binder 3.0... I did it all manually lol. Editing the maps in half then putting them together so it read like a book. Yours turned out really well - love the cover. There is something just satisfying about having a book you made on your shelf.
I'm going to have to give this a shot sometime. Also, a tip about gluing paper to wood without wrinkles. Soak the paper in water for a minute or two to let the fibres expand. Then attach it to the surface with PVA (you could even try dissolving some PVA in the water itself). Works well even on very large surfaces.
saw your spines. Rather than spending ages punching holes to sew through, you can just drop the page block into your press, and then use a razor saw to cut across the spine, creating all the holes across all the signatures in one go. It will create slightly larger holes than awl punching, but its soooooo much faster, and much more accurate (as long as you use a t-square to draw lines across the spine to make sure your saw cuts are perpendicular). Plus the larger holes arent a bad thing if you want to sew cords into the spine.
The early days I like to make physical books of electronic copies. I purchased printers especially for that purpose. The books I made looked a bit amateurish though. But a block bonded with PVA glue was impossible to break. Probably I'll get back to making books again at a new level.
You're just lucky to be able to keep that many books, I've had to get used to reading off my tablet at home, as I just don't have room for all the bookshelves I used to keep.
Well, that has inspired me to have a go. As I mentioned on IG, my dad was a bookbinder - I decided not to take on the family business as the digital era was looming large (shame though, I would have been the third generation). He was always going to teach me to bind books, but we lacked a nipping press. Your simple solution looks like a good hack for that!
I can understand your reluctance to follow in the trade, technology has changed so many age old professions! :( What is a 'nipping press'? Is that the technical name for my ghetto pieces of plywood with the bolts and wingnuts?
@@KnightsOfDice Yeah, was in 1980 too - so computers were on the horizon - I decided to go into another trade (shopfitter). I'm pretty sure a nipping press is the same as the book press you mention. Dad was adamant you couldn't bind books without one - but that was probably the old school bookbinder in action there ;) - you have proved there are work-arounds!
@@modelsfromscratch I wouldn't want to be a shopfitter these days! Rough industry what with online shopping not to mention COVID shutting down stores all over the place!
@@KnightsOfDice yes, it would be a very tough industry now. It only lasted ten years for me - the recession in 1989 forced me to move on. I’m currently looking at my fourth career change as COVID nudged me out of the tertiary sector last year - all good fun! Chance to reinvent myself and do something I enjoy👍👍👍
@@KnightsOfDiceA nipping press would be a press used to trim the pages. It comes fitted with a large shear that slices through in one shot. You need to hold the pages flat so the edge comes out straight throughout the whole block. Cutting a straight, square and even block by hand is nearly impossible. Having such a cut edge makes flipping through books so much nicer though.
That looks so cathartic, I downloaded that PDF a while back, hope the original creator is still updating it, he doesn't seem to be active in that community for over a year and it's missing some of the latest models.
Huzzah,, I always find out about stuff once it's over. I was once a subscriber a long time ago but somehow stopped. But now I'm finding all these videos in my feed that I missed. Big fan though.
Viv, give artist spray adhesive a try, this is what works to attach photographic paperstock to mounting board, a rubber roller might also help press out air bubbles.
Hahaha, I would very much like to!! This kind of book is very dangerous for someone like me. My daughter asked what it was for and I joking said "This is the guide to divorce", which my wife heard as she was walking past and said "Your an idiot" :)
Very cool project, I always prefer to have a physical copy of books when gaming, having to look at that pdf on the phone is kind of jarring and the usual printouts get ratty fast!
I worked in a print shop doing perfect bindings, comb and spiral. But case binding is a true art. I make my own journals and sketch books and I've been thinking of doing this for a few pdfs that have seen more use in recent days. wink, wink, nudge nudge.
8:06 Just like me attempting to bind a book! Anyway, bonus of doing this is, you can delete pages you don’t need, or include extra material as need be…
Hi and thanks for your work showing us your experience. Question (sorry if you mentioned it), Could I use 3 ring binders for printed larger RPG books? I understand that is not nearly as good as a book binding. But was not sure what the draw backs are of a 3 ring binder before I try it. I am totally new at this and happily overwhelmed by all the PDF options which would make being able to experience more games for less.
Interesting to watch you going through the process, I’ve only done small staples pamphlets so far but might give this a try. One thought on your video, the background music has a very pronounced beat which is most distracting, something less obtrusive might be better.
Thanks so much! I’ve actually been considering doing something similar. This is going to be a really helpful guide for me. Just out of curiosity, how much do all those books cost? I imagine it’s still much more affordable than getting them from a bookstore.
I have done 2 books now. I want to do more. I just used Adobe reader to print in booklet mode and you just need to print for example a 3 page signature works out to 12 pages. 4 page signature would be 16 pages
I wanted to make a hard copy of the Ryuutama RPG so that I could use it without needing the pdf, since the RPG is only available in an english PDF on Drivethrurpg rather than POD One of the things I noticed is that the bookbinder is a .jar file, since I'm not familiar with running those kinds of files, how do you properly use them?
What is the name of the paper you used for the cover, please? Sorry, English is not my first language and I guess my listening is not very good, hahaha!
I used some bits of MDF for the hard back and a custom image to print the actual cover. You'll need to make your own cover (we used Photoshop), or perhaps try Fivver to find someone to make one for you
If you want your book to be 6x9 (I'm assuming that is inches) then your paper needs to be twice the size. I used regular A4 paper, which when folded it becomes and A5 book.
My only regret is that I have but one Like to give this video. Such an awesome idea and one that looks worth exploring
Hahah, you're a legend! That's such a nice comment, thanks!
Right?!
I have stitched & bound my own books for years. It is an art unto itself.
Indeed, and one that has plenty of room for me to improve at! :D
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
i am honestly thinking of doing this to paperback books
Thank you so much. Bookbinder 3.0 is exactly what I needed.
I’ve done this with a bunch of maps I made to make an atlas (vid on my channel if you are interested). Didn’t know about book binder 3.0... I did it all manually lol. Editing the maps in half then putting them together so it read like a book. Yours turned out really well - love the cover. There is something just satisfying about having a book you made on your shelf.
It's such an enjoyable process. I couldn't imagine reorganizing the pages manually, we'll done!!!
I used to manually signature my pages that's why I stopped doing my books. Thanks for sharing the program!
I'm going to have to give this a shot sometime.
Also, a tip about gluing paper to wood without wrinkles. Soak the paper in water for a minute or two to let the fibres expand. Then attach it to the surface with PVA (you could even try dissolving some PVA in the water itself). Works well even on very large surfaces.
Soak that paper in water?! Wow, interesting. I'll have to give it a try, it sounds super crazy. :D
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
saw your spines.
Rather than spending ages punching holes to sew through, you can just drop the page block into your press, and then use a razor saw to cut across the spine, creating all the holes across all the signatures in one go. It will create slightly larger holes than awl punching, but its soooooo much faster, and much more accurate (as long as you use a t-square to draw lines across the spine to make sure your saw cuts are perpendicular). Plus the larger holes arent a bad thing if you want to sew cords into the spine.
Hrmmm, very interesting. I'm making a new journal for my daughter shortly, I might have to try that! Cheers
Sounds lkke a Nice ideia 💡
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
Hell yeah, nice one, I’ve got tones of out of print D&D books in PDF, will be good to see them in a hard cover.
That would be cool!
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
I never even knew you could even do this? Thanks for sharing.
Give it a go man ... it's a fun project that only takes an evening or two
The early days I like to make physical books of electronic copies. I purchased printers especially for that purpose. The books I made looked a bit amateurish though. But a block bonded with PVA glue was impossible to break. Probably I'll get back to making books again at a new level.
You're just lucky to be able to keep that many books, I've had to get used to reading off my tablet at home, as I just don't have room for all the bookshelves I used to keep.
Yeah, they take up a lot of space! My wife isn't a big fan of book shelves so I only have one at home, the rest are at the studio.
Well, that has inspired me to have a go. As I mentioned on IG, my dad was a bookbinder - I decided not to take on the family business as the digital era was looming large (shame though, I would have been the third generation). He was always going to teach me to bind books, but we lacked a nipping press. Your simple solution looks like a good hack for that!
I can understand your reluctance to follow in the trade, technology has changed so many age old professions! :( What is a 'nipping press'? Is that the technical name for my ghetto pieces of plywood with the bolts and wingnuts?
@@KnightsOfDice Yeah, was in 1980 too - so computers were on the horizon - I decided to go into another trade (shopfitter). I'm pretty sure a nipping press is the same as the book press you mention. Dad was adamant you couldn't bind books without one - but that was probably the old school bookbinder in action there ;) - you have proved there are work-arounds!
@@modelsfromscratch I wouldn't want to be a shopfitter these days! Rough industry what with online shopping not to mention COVID shutting down stores all over the place!
@@KnightsOfDice yes, it would be a very tough industry now. It only lasted ten years for me - the recession in 1989 forced me to move on. I’m currently looking at my fourth career change as COVID nudged me out of the tertiary sector last year - all good fun! Chance to reinvent myself and do something I enjoy👍👍👍
@@KnightsOfDiceA nipping press would be a press used to trim the pages. It comes fitted with a large shear that slices through in one shot. You need to hold the pages flat so the edge comes out straight throughout the whole block. Cutting a straight, square and even block by hand is nearly impossible. Having such a cut edge makes flipping through books so much nicer though.
Absolutely great video, informative, to the point and very enjoyable to watch. Your energy is extremely contagious, never stop doing what you do! ❤❤
Thank you!!
Great stuff Viv. This is something I had never ever considered. I might have to try tis some time.
You should, it's a fun project!
That looks so cathartic, I downloaded that PDF a while back, hope the original creator is still updating it, he doesn't seem to be active in that community for over a year and it's missing some of the latest models.
He did reply to a post I popped up on Facebook so hopefully he does get time to update it at some stage!
Now I'm gonna bind my own functional analysis and differential geometry books
Huzzah,, I always find out about stuff once it's over. I was once a subscriber a long time ago but somehow stopped. But now I'm finding all these videos in my feed that I missed. Big fan though.
Viv, give artist spray adhesive a try, this is what works to attach photographic paperstock to mounting board, a rubber roller might also help press out air bubbles.
I was thinking about a spray adhesive, I thought I had some at home but couldn't find it.
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
This is awesome mate! Now you just have to collect everything!
Hahaha, I would very much like to!! This kind of book is very dangerous for someone like me. My daughter asked what it was for and I joking said "This is the guide to divorce", which my wife heard as she was walking past and said "Your an idiot" :)
cool. I bind rulebooks too myself. this is only way to get some of cool Indi or discontinued games.
Indeed! It's certainly a little bit of effort but it's very much worth it!
Very cool project, I always prefer to have a physical copy of books when gaming, having to look at that pdf on the phone is kind of jarring and the usual printouts get ratty fast!
I much prefer a physical book .. though, I attending a MESBG event recently and can see the advantage in having something digital as well!
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
This is so inspiring! Thank you 🙏🏽
I worked in a print shop doing perfect bindings, comb and spiral. But case binding is a true art. I make my own journals and sketch books and I've been thinking of doing this for a few pdfs that have seen more use in recent days. wink, wink, nudge nudge.
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
Well now I want one.....................
All the links to the videos I used to learn are in the description ;)
It's nothing better than a book
wow made it so simple, i was thinking of downloading indesign, setting up each page there then print it at an offset printer lol. great work thanks
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
Brilliant! Love it! Well done!
Thanks a lot!
8:06 Just like me attempting to bind a book!
Anyway, bonus of doing this is, you can delete pages you don’t need, or include extra material as need be…
Awesome! Thanks for the video.
"There's nothing better than a book." Amin
Watched this video several times ....
One day I'll get my finger out and do this.
Books are best!
So good! I have shelves and shelves of rulebooks, novels, etc ... love them!
WOW. amazing job!
This is amazing. physical books are so much better.
It's a really enjoyable process!
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
Im thinking of doing this with a script of my favorite movie.
Honestly, a book just feels more real than a tablet with a pdf. Also, you don't have to worry about it being charged or not!
6:00 the wrinkles are because you use normal paper. Use 120gsm for outer covers. Costs about double but you only need 2 per book.
Awesome!
Thanks, it was a fun project!
Dude I have so many PDFs. Thanks
Hi and thanks for your work showing us your experience. Question (sorry if you mentioned it), Could I use 3 ring binders for printed larger RPG books? I understand that is not nearly as good as a book binding. But was not sure what the draw backs are of a 3 ring binder before I try it. I am totally new at this and happily overwhelmed by all the PDF options which would make being able to experience more games for less.
Thanks!
Interesting to watch you going through the process, I’ve only done small staples pamphlets so far but might give this a try. One thought on your video, the background music has a very pronounced beat which is most distracting, something less obtrusive might be better.
It's such a fun activity, very rewarding!
Love this 💕
Thanks so much! I’ve actually been considering doing something similar. This is going to be a really helpful guide for me. Just out of curiosity, how much do all those books cost? I imagine it’s still much more affordable than getting them from a bookstore.
@@KluaLumPur is a fun project! I've no idea how much I've spent on books, but it would be in the thousands
Clip at the ending got me laughing big time :D
Very Cool right up to that out take 😂
I have done 2 books now. I want to do more. I just used Adobe reader to print in booklet mode and you just need to print for example a 3 page signature works out to 12 pages. 4 page signature would be 16 pages
It's such a fun, chill thing to do ... a little tedious and frustrating at times but the end result is always a joy!
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
I am now up to 10 books. The biggest being Dracula by Bram stoker. Just have to put the cover on. 509 pages
this is exactly what i came here for. rpg book binding
Which Size of Paper you used ?
DIN A 4 or 3 ?
@@joshymass9251 A4
what a great idea
It's a wonderfully enjoyable project too ... it does take some time, but I think it is well worth it!
I wanted to make a hard copy of the Ryuutama RPG so that I could use it without needing the pdf, since the RPG is only available in an english PDF on Drivethrurpg rather than POD
One of the things I noticed is that the bookbinder is a .jar file, since I'm not familiar with running those kinds of files, how do you properly use them?
But how do you get the pages to print like that?
What is the name of the paper you used for the cover, please? Sorry, English is not my first language and I guess my listening is not very good, hahaha!
It's just regular printer paper, probably 80gsm weight.
@@KnightsOfDice Thank you very much!
What paper do you use?
What paper did you use for printing the cover?
Just regular 80gsm A3 printer paper
Great Idea! "Nothing better than a book". Can you provide a link to your cover file? That would be awesome
Hrmmm, my file management is pretty bad but I will have a look around for it ... it's gotta be somewhere!
Did you find it?
if you're sewing the signatures, then glueing the spine is probably unnecessary.
Where do I find book covers?
I used some bits of MDF for the hard back and a custom image to print the actual cover. You'll need to make your own cover (we used Photoshop), or perhaps try Fivver to find someone to make one for you
What paper size do you use for a 6x9 book? I want to try this but im too confused at everything to start😅
If you want your book to be 6x9 (I'm assuming that is inches) then your paper needs to be twice the size. I used regular A4 paper, which when folded it becomes and A5 book.
@@KnightsOfDice thank youu
CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHICH KIND OF FOLDER IS THIS AND WHAT DO WE CALL IT 0:15
They are called 'spiral bound'. Thanks for watching!
Can I pay someone to my make a PDF into 1 book for me only?
There are lots of print on demand websites that do this sort of thing, have a Google around your area, I'm sure you'll find something
@8:11 You good?
3:40 awl pronounced all, hehe.
Gasp! I had no idea this was an option, but it's everything I've ever needed 🥹