Vent: People using the wrong grain direction on book cloth

I was at a workshop last month in Portland and watched someone spend 45 minutes covering a text block only to have it bubble up overnight because they ran the grain against the spine. I've been binding for about 6 years and this is the one mistake I see over and over even from folks who should know better. It's not just cosmetic either - wrong grain makes the cover warp over time and the hinge gets weak. Has anyone else noticed this in local groups or classes?

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2 Comments

abby_martin283mo ago

Is it really THAT big of a deal though? I've been binding for like four years and I've definitely messed up grain direction a few times and never seen any warping or hinge issues. Maybe it's a problem if you're using really cheap materials or storing books in a damp basement or something.

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palmer.ryan3mo ago

You said "maybe it's a problem if you're using really cheap materials" and that reminded me - a friend of mine used some super cheap book board from a big box store and her covers looked like potato chips after a month. She switched to proper archival stuff and never had the issue again.

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