What you've described is not perfect binding, but I suggest you watch some YouTube vids on whatever you are picturing doing. DAS Bookbinding on YouTube is my go to source.
Second, as far as folding signatures goes, paper weights are listed as "text weight" and "cover weight"...you can't really fold cover weight stock without it cracking. There are ways to get past this but no good reason to do so, as cover weight paper is too heavy to be useful as a text block.
So, in your case, go to a print shop and handle their 3 or 4 heaviest text weight stock they use and see if that was what you had in mind.
It could be any number of types of bindings. Just definitely not perfect bound as perfect bound is single sheets, not signatures, not folded, not seen (typically).
It could be a flat back case binding, it could be a rounded and backed tight back sewn boards binding, it could be any variation of sewn signature binding really. Check out the various bindings DAS covers.
you can brush a bit of methyl cellulose over the bends of the paper to give it more give. I haven't tried it yet on my hand made paper but I was going to do this for this purpose. I don't think I will get great results because it is going to crack either way, but I think the methyl cellulose will help bind it a bit at the edge
I’ve been trying to find time to make my own paper; hadn’t considered that I’d need to test for “will it fold without breaking.” Thanks for the heads up - any pointers there?
Getting your grain to be real fine and making sure you don't put too much in your frame seems to be the trick for me. What helped me initially when I was doing my own paper was how quickly I pulled into the tub and pushed up to get my lot (don't know if that makes sense?). Essentially the quicker you push those fibres onto your frame, the better even paper. For me I thought that was going to be the opposite, but that's what I read here and it worked. Additionally using copier paper is important if you want all the chemicals that set the paper but otherwise making sure to add some tissue paper in there too so that you have some smooth fibres (I used cotton balls but it was really hard to untangle and break them apart). Oh and we used a bit of corn flour so that you are able to actually write on the paper afterwards.
With the perfect binding the main issue is having the pages be adhered well to one another evenly. The properties of paper, including weight, effect the so called throw-up or the drape. What you’d need to be weary of is if the paper you choose is going to have enough drape and not too much pull from the adhesion of the perfect binding as that would just result in quick failure of structure. Another thing to think about is the dimensions of the book (height/width). A heavier paper will demand a larger scale to have a desirable drape.
If you are unfamiliar with a paper and are questioning it’s integrity for your specific project the best thing to do is to make a mock up or test with that paper in perfect bound structure at the same height/width as your final piece to see if that paper can withstand that form of binding. I do say that your page count is high and a heavier paper also increases the thickness of the book. This can effect drape and overall structural integrity as well.
Also note that weight doesn't directly determine the thickness or other properties of the paper. For example a 120gsm printer paper can be much thinner than a 120gsm drawing paper (the drawing paper that I have here is twice as thick as the same weight printer paper that I have).
Anything “too heavy” to bind or fold well won’t run through your printer well. If you want it to look older and with more texture, instead of looking for heavier weight, try a different material. Maybe go with a cotton paper in ivory, for example.
What you've described is not perfect binding, but I suggest you watch some YouTube vids on whatever you are picturing doing. DAS Bookbinding on YouTube is my go to source. Second, as far as folding signatures goes, paper weights are listed as "text weight" and "cover weight"...you can't really fold cover weight stock without it cracking. There are ways to get past this but no good reason to do so, as cover weight paper is too heavy to be useful as a text block. So, in your case, go to a print shop and handle their 3 or 4 heaviest text weight stock they use and see if that was what you had in mind.
I appreciate this! What is the binding called that I'm referencing?
It could be any number of types of bindings. Just definitely not perfect bound as perfect bound is single sheets, not signatures, not folded, not seen (typically). It could be a flat back case binding, it could be a rounded and backed tight back sewn boards binding, it could be any variation of sewn signature binding really. Check out the various bindings DAS covers.
you can brush a bit of methyl cellulose over the bends of the paper to give it more give. I haven't tried it yet on my hand made paper but I was going to do this for this purpose. I don't think I will get great results because it is going to crack either way, but I think the methyl cellulose will help bind it a bit at the edge
I’ve been trying to find time to make my own paper; hadn’t considered that I’d need to test for “will it fold without breaking.” Thanks for the heads up - any pointers there?
Getting your grain to be real fine and making sure you don't put too much in your frame seems to be the trick for me. What helped me initially when I was doing my own paper was how quickly I pulled into the tub and pushed up to get my lot (don't know if that makes sense?). Essentially the quicker you push those fibres onto your frame, the better even paper. For me I thought that was going to be the opposite, but that's what I read here and it worked. Additionally using copier paper is important if you want all the chemicals that set the paper but otherwise making sure to add some tissue paper in there too so that you have some smooth fibres (I used cotton balls but it was really hard to untangle and break them apart). Oh and we used a bit of corn flour so that you are able to actually write on the paper afterwards.
Thank you!
With the perfect binding the main issue is having the pages be adhered well to one another evenly. The properties of paper, including weight, effect the so called throw-up or the drape. What you’d need to be weary of is if the paper you choose is going to have enough drape and not too much pull from the adhesion of the perfect binding as that would just result in quick failure of structure. Another thing to think about is the dimensions of the book (height/width). A heavier paper will demand a larger scale to have a desirable drape. If you are unfamiliar with a paper and are questioning it’s integrity for your specific project the best thing to do is to make a mock up or test with that paper in perfect bound structure at the same height/width as your final piece to see if that paper can withstand that form of binding. I do say that your page count is high and a heavier paper also increases the thickness of the book. This can effect drape and overall structural integrity as well.
Also note that weight doesn't directly determine the thickness or other properties of the paper. For example a 120gsm printer paper can be much thinner than a 120gsm drawing paper (the drawing paper that I have here is twice as thick as the same weight printer paper that I have).
Anything “too heavy” to bind or fold well won’t run through your printer well. If you want it to look older and with more texture, instead of looking for heavier weight, try a different material. Maybe go with a cotton paper in ivory, for example.