That moment I realized my grain direction was backwards...

I was binding a small poetry book last night and the pages kept wrinkling along the spine no matter how much I pressed them. Then I held up a scrap sheet to the light and saw the fibers were running horizontal instead of vertical... feels obvious now. Anyone else have a basic technique click for them after years of doing it the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

derek_schmidt625d ago

Three years I've been making books and I still purposefully run my grain horizontal on certain projects. Just finished a batch of 12 landscape-oriented sketchbooks for a local artist and the pages actually lay flatter with cross-grain folding because the paper's natural curl works with the wider format. Also saved about 30% on waste because standard sheet sizes cut more efficiently that way. Your mileage may vary but sometimes the "wrong" way gives you a better result than what the tutorials tell you.

pat_schmidt6025d ago

Honestly, I heard something similar from a bookbinder I follow online who said the same thing about landscape books with heavier paper. They mentioned that cross-grain folding actually lets the paper's natural curl work for you instead of against you, especially with wider formats. Ngl, that 30% waste savings is a big deal too, it makes me think standard rules might be overhyped for certain projects. Tbh, it's a good reminder that hands-on testing beats what the tutorials say every time.

haydenbutler25d ago

I was in the "always grain parallel" camp for three years too. Then I did a run of 30 landscape notebooks for a print shop and had the same experience you're describing. The paper actually folded cleaner and the pages sat flatter because the heavier stock we used had a natural curve that went with the wide format instead of fighting it. Plus we cut about 25% less waste than if we'd followed the rule. I tested it on a few different paper weights and found the same for 100 lb text and higher. Definitely changed my mind on this.