#Chinese bookbinding

[towns-end-bindery]

A Classical Chinese poetry book I made for my grandmother.

[shewhoeatssand]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I love Kaneki so much!!!!!! I want to do puzzles with him and watch his expression as he tries to figure out what to do with a difficult piece!!!!!! I want to paint still-lifes of the coffees he makes!!!! I want to take him to the nursery to pick out new bulbs to plant in the spring!!!!!!! I want to buy Kaneki a desk!!!!!!!!!!!

[end-of-the-alleyway]

Anyone just start speaking another language they’re LEARNING in their own frustration?

[orwellsunderpants]

Video shows a man painstakingly making Chinese movable type. He creates small blocks with the characters on them out of clay, then puts the characters into trays to create the text he wants to print. He inks the trays and presses sheets of paper onto them to create the pages. The last step is to trim the pages and bind them into books with blue paper covers. Sound is gentle instrumental music and the sounds the man makes as he does his work.

[along-the-silkroad]

Detail of Silk Animal Carpet, Safavid, second half 16th century. MET (ID: 14.40.721). This is one of a small group of carpets woven entirely of silk with approximately 800 knots per square inch, representing the highest level of production in sixteenth‑century Iran. In contrast to the other floral and geometric carpets in this group, this outstanding example displays a painterly approach, with images of animals in combat against a background of flowering plants. The range of animals includes lions, tigers, and rams, as well as spotted dragons and horned, deerlike beasts borrowed from Chinese art. Similar imagery appears on manuscript paintings and lacquer bookbindings produced at the same time. (MET)

[faalthien]

Bingqiu 3D-ish notebook!! Used to house my chinese textbook, currently empty (wth am I going to do with these??).

Including, with lessons learned:

🍃 Soft cloth cover. (but not a softcover - note to self: look into thinner bookbinding carton if I'm gonna do layered pieces. You could brain a guy with this. Fun, but collects fluff like my AO3 history on a rainy day)

🍃 Binghe's Mark! (my own version bc my brain latched on. Holds up surprisingly well)

🍃 Removable pages (the removable ties are still a bit worn, but I was lazy to find proper ones) and 360° opening for ease of note taking.

🍃 A spine! (this one I usually skip. I was trying to figure out how to do a spine while keeping the whole thing flexible enough to open all the way around and to accommodate with different amounts of paper inside, and I think the soft cloth spine worked it well.)

🍃 Not at all subtle bingqiu inner covers.

🍃 My inability to take proper pics (sorry).

[greenhorn-art]

Quest Fulfilled by Invidia_Envy @alsheon

Fandom: 全职高手 | The King's Avatar

Rating: Not Rated

Category: Other

Words: 10,370

In a meet and greet event, Ye Xiu is forced to hang around despite not joining the event at all. Whilst loitering around, Ye Xiu met a fanboy and made an unlikely friendship with the kid. Accident happened and the boy can't join the meet and greet, Ye Xiu decided to take his place. The pros are all speechless, why is Ye Qiu lining up in Tyranny's booth?

ABOUT THE BOOK

FORMAT: Letter quarto (trimmed), flatback casebinding, french link stitch, no tapes

FONTS: Times New Roman, Permanent Marker [via Google Fonts], KaiTi, Roboto [via Google Fonts], Arty Signature [via Font Space]

MATERIALS: 24lb Xerox Bold Digital paper (8.5"x11"), 80pt binder's board (~2mm), 30/3 size waxed linen thread, 1.9mm cording, yellow cardstock, Verona bookcloth: Hot Toffee, DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic Yellow Gold, 20lb printer paper, paste wax

PROGRAMS USED: Affinity Publisher, Bookbinder-JS

.

Quest Fulfilled! This was a sweet little fic, and it's been on the list in the back of my mind for a while. Now it's book 3 of 3 of my mini 'they didn't know he was Ye Qiu' collection.

[First, Second, Third]

Set in Times New Roman, with Permanent Marker on the AO3 info page, and with Chinese characters in KaiTi, to match with the other two books.

Because the main story is about Ye Xiu getting the pros' autographs for a sickly boy, I styled the author's name like a signature. Arty Signature is nice and messy, while still legible.

I chose a golden yellow bookcloth because yellow is a happy, optimistic colour, and gold is precious — Little Yan brings home stories and a trove of signed merch for his sick brothers, including exclusive autographs from the elusive God Ye Qiu! I was also thinking of autographs being done with a gold marker.

The endpapers are yellow cardstock, continuing with the bookcloth-endpaper colour coordination of the set.

I used my book plough to trim the textblock, then painted the edges with gold acrylic paint. The gold felt especially fitting for this book.

For all that I curse while doing it, sewing the endbands is actually one of my favourite parts of the book making process, so this collection was my first time making faux endbands. The books are so thin that sewing would be a pain.

The same paste wax applied to the paper label is the same that I used on my bind of Prince of Shadows, Lord of Thieves. Made from wax and turpentine and/or mineral spirits, but ratio and specifics unknown.

[runawaymun]

the whole tiktok ban situation is super crunchy and I'm conflicted. Because on the one hand...it does feel startlingly close to a kind of censorship and I think the whole 'chinese government links' thing is pure scaremongering. But on the other hand I genuinely think that tiktok has accelerated the rate of enshittification of so, so many things. Like it has been a net harm in basically everything. Even the publishing industry is suffering now. As someone who wants to get novels published, the entire state of the publishing industry catering to tiktok and the quality of even bookbinding rapidly deteriorating in the past couple of years, I've been reconsidering and thinking about simply setting up a website/archive to self publish my work.

So...I don't know. It's not as if other social media sites (X, Facebook, etc.) haven't done harm, and it's not like huge media giants like Google haven't caused possibly irreparable damage to how things work now, but...I just distinctly remember a pre-tiktok, pre-covid world and things legitimately weren't as bad online then as they are now. Tiktok actually feels uniquely bad. The change happened so rapidly, too. At what point do we decide that a product causes enough visible harm that it needs to be removed? Because that's what tiktok is, at the end of the day. It's a product. We don't have the same clear measurement as we do with, say, lead paint on children's toys, but idk idk idk...

[levynite]

@snickerdoodlles this might help

I've timestamped it to the hardcover bit (btw if you are making a rounded book like in that Chinese video, you want to use a thinner material for the spine rather than the same material as the front and back covers, manila card or an old cereal box or something, and you can gently round it by rubbing it against a table edge. DAS Bookbinding is also a useful resource)

[black-cat-aoife]

@kathastrophen tagged me 💜

last song: I am currently rotating the Nirvana in Fire OST and the You're an ancient Chinese Scholar preparing for imperial examination Playlist. Don't ask for titles

favorite color: purple and dark red

last book: I am going to wildly misinterpret this as 'last book you started' because the alternative is too embarrassing. Glamour Boys by Chris Bryant

last movie: Besties. Which I didn't pay too much attention to, which is a bad idea for subtitled movies ,but I am too old for teenage drama, even with lesbians

last show: Murdoch Mysteries. Or as my mom calls it: The show with the pretty Canadian

sweet/spicy/savory: savory

relationship status: single

last thing i googled: Python compare strings case insensitive

current obsession: I am too exhausted to properly obsess over anything but I am watching a lot of 911

looking forward to: watching Chicago. the end of the semester. The bookbinding course

No pressure tagging @cricrithings @katistrophe @keep-calm-and-watch-spatort

[spamkimbap]

Do you have any niche interests that you haven’t really talked about online?

Oh this is a great question, I have to think about what counts as niche LOL, most of these probably aren't that niche but I'm not sure what else to call them

I definitely have a LOT of interests I don't post too much about, and some of which I haven't fulfilled IRL yet (like I don't have the means to pursue it as a hobby)

Not really "niche" I don't think and I do post about them (not super in depth though) in the sciences include but are not limited to:

Zoology (this is what I'm going to go to college for once I legally change my name)

Entomology

Linguistics

Archaeology

Paleontology

Biology in general

General environmental sciences

Geology

Astronomy

Anthropology

And probably others I am forgetting

Some hobby based interests of mine include the following (I'll put a note next to the ones I can't actually fulfill as of rn):

Tea drinking/brewing/etc. (probably the biggest one I have) (I fulfill this)

Bookbinding (I can't fulfill this yet)

Painting (not very niche) (I fulfill this but I do not feel comfortable sharing any paintings at the moment lol)

Puzzle-solving

Calligraphy/penmanship (not currently fulfilling this)

Reading (not niche at all but generally I don't post about any of the books I read)

Movies? Not inherently niche but I don't post about this and I'm into watching movies like old films, indie films, and cult classics

Macrophotography (not fulfilling this because I don't have the equipment but I do take pictures of bugs with the macrophotography feature on our old family video camera even if they're not great)

Writing and poetry (not niche but I don't post about this at all, I really want to write starting books and currently write poetry)

Theater/acting (not niche but I don't post about this) (also can't fulfill it)

Tarot/divination (I don't truly believe in it but it's just fun)

Okay I don't feel like reorganizing my list above but going from above here are more things I'm into that can't currently fulfill or just haven't fulfilled yet:

Ceramics

Crochet

Fishing (I've done this like three times)

Things like chess, mahjong, go, shogi, koi-koi and other hanafuda games (I don't know how to play chess which embarrasses me greatly)

Sewing in general

Quilting (I've made one quilt!)

Woodworking

Bug keeping (I want roly polies and snails and some others)

Vulture culture (not very legal...)

Foraging (I have an uncle very into this that I need to help me get into this)

Geocaching

Hiking

Biking (been getting into this a bit recently)

Some miscellaneous interests of mine that I'm not sure how to categorize include the following (some of these might be sciences but I feel like they're not as science-y as the ones I listed before)"

Mythology (this...counts as antropology but shh)

Conlangs (counts as linguistics? sort of?)

Vexillology

Language learning (semi-fluent in Spanish, currently learning: Irish, Welsh, (Scottish Gaelic), Scots, Lushootseed, Japanese, Chinese, I want to learn some other languages as well though)

Sunscreen/sunblock/UV protection (I have no idea what to call this but it's a big interest of mine)

Hedgehogs (big special interest of mine throughout my life)

I collect old books (none of them are all that old and I don't seek out any old titles, but if I see an old book I'll usually buy it, although I've had to put a hold on this because I don't have space) (oldest book I have is very late 1800s)

I have no idea how to phrase this but I love learning about the cultures of different countries as well as the differences in variations of English, I guess this is anthropology and linguistics

Lost media

History in general (this falls into archaeology and anthropology)

Dogs? I'm very into stuff about dogs, not like breeding or dog shows but just different stuff about the breeds or stuff about dogs

Animation (I'm into its history and animated features)

Dragons. As a child I was so autistic about them that I refused to read any book without dragons AND they had to be neutral to good dragons (ties into mythology)

Fairies/fae (ties into mythology)

Plushie collecting (I don't seek out specific plushes or try to fill certain spots in a collection, I just like collecting whatever I like)

There's probably more I'm forgetting

[towns-end-bindery]

Lunar New Year Coptic Stitch Journal

🧧

For the new year, my mom gave me some red envelopes. Normally I like to keep the envelopes so I can reuse them for next year, but unfortunately she wrote on the back of them in ink with my name. So I got this new idea for how I could use it instead.

The color paper I used for the journal pages came from these really cheap craft paper pads I bought from Daiso ($1.75 per pad).

It’s my first time doing a cutout in a cover. It’s also my first time doing something fancy for the spine stitches. Really pleased with how it all came out. The cover is black marbled paper, with a cutout to display the lucky red envelope. I think this took me 5 hours from start to finish.

You can go here to find images of my process.

[byopiapress]

Byopia Press Advent Calendar 2023: Day Eleven and A Travel Kit

Perhaps you have a friend who travels and likes to take their craft work with them. This little travel kit based on the Zhen Xian Bao/Chinese Thread Book might make a suitable gift. I made this one for a friend as a travelling bookbinder’s kit. Continue reading Untitled

[sock-to-the-third]

New Crafts: Papermaking

By Elizabeth Couzins-Scott

History of Paper

It opens up with a brief history of paper. Last book I read on the process also did the same. The usj like Egypt made it first from papyrus, then China, after that spread from there.

What’s got me cutuous is this Ts’au Lun guy who Couzins-Scott claims after he found an alternative to bamboo/silk paper —to— old rags, fishnets and plants (ex hemp and mulberry). They said that “Ts’ai Lun was rewarded for his pains by being imprisoned so that the Chinese government could keep the secret of papermaking.” Kinda skeptical they could keep a secret like that for 600 years but even if there’s a grain of truth in this, I’m super curious.

Note to self: Ts’ai Lun, China, History of Paper

Another tidbit I’m interested in is the printing press. Was there any interesting non-European printing press pre-1453? I find it a bit odd that all the inventions involving papermaking/printing suddenly appear in Europe… hmm… wonder if that’s an oversight or what circumstances may cause that.

Equiptment (pg 16, 19)

Mould and deckle (aka paper scooping stuff)

Liquidizer (aka blender)

Ends up you soak the pulp so to break up the fibers in the recycled paper. Also, a sieve (strainer) helps to make a thicker pulp. Also, if you poor pulp down the drain, it could cause a clog.

I always wondered how big of pieces you should shred it into though. That’s certainly something I’ll experiment with if smaller pieces make things more difficult or easier. Couzins-Scott says to use “postage stamp” size pieces. Also, ends up your not using the blender a crap ton— just short bursts.

Plant Paper (pg25)

This goes into it from scratch rather than recycled paper. Rather than the process grabbing my attention, it was the materials that they suggested like…

Hay (Dried grass)

Straw (Hollowed out stalks)

Grass

Pampas grass

Irises (tuber), Montbretia, Gladioli, Daffodils

Foxgloves

Couzins-Scott goes over the process for straw and “dried” plant fibers. I’m curious if in reference to plants from the lily family and foxgloves if it’s more the leafy stalks coming from the bulb or if you can use the stem too.

Fave Projects

Greetings Card (pg30)

Notepaper Case (pg54)

Japanese Bound Book (pg69)

For the greeting card, the combination of the card and the rough edged paper folded around it with the added cute touch of a ribbon sent me over the moon.

On the other hand, the notepaper case looks stylish and practical.

Meanwhile, I just love the idea of making books so seeing any technique for book binding got me excited. It ends up for that project Couzins-Scott used the “4-whole-binding” technique. I’ll need to look into bookbinding too.

Flourishes

Emboss (pg39)

Embroidery (pg86)

In this case I believe embossed means to “stamp” something on the surface. I have a bit of interest in it but mostly I just love how ritzy the word sounds.

Then I just love the vibe of embroidering on paper. I wouldn’t do it (even though I like embroidering) but the results are absolutely gorgeous. I def hope I see more of that in my reading.

All in all, interesting book. I’d prob more use it as a cross reference to see where the disagreements are so to keep close notes on those when I do my own project in the future.

[ippnoida]

Smyth at drupa – Hall6 C25

With approximately 600 active customers in over 65 countries across 5 continents, 95% of the pioneer Smyth’s turnover originates from exports thanks to a strong network of exclusive distributors and agents. For the inventor and pioneer of section sewing for bookbinding, continuous expansion underscores dedicated adaptation to varying market demands, with products and services customized across various regions. Adaptability is the company’s strength which it believes is the key to entering a dynamic and evolving market like India.

India indeed stands out as an emerging country with unparalleled growth potential, not only within emerging markets but also globally. This confidence in its growth profile comes from India’s economic and demographic factors. While China remains a significant player in the printing industry, we believe that India has unique characteristics that make it an exciting prospect for long-term growth.

In this context, Smyth can effectively cater to customers’ needs and purchasing power, thereby contributing to India’s growth. The company is a viable alternative to Chinese machines and expensive European counterparts, offering high-quality products at competitive prices.

Its approach to the Indian market involves introducing its brand, highlighting the value of its solutions, and proving its quality while emphasizing integrity in conducting business to create enduring business relationships, assisting customers and fostering their business growth. Its automatic entry-level solutions can immediately hit the mark and meet the demands of the Indian market, offering European quality at more affordable prices.

Also, top-of-the-line reconditioned machines are a smart choice that balances quality and cost-effectiveness. As a manufacturer, Smyth meticulously strips down the machine, inspects, and replaces components, following strict quality control procedures during the refurbishment process, supplying overhauled machines that offer reliable performances comparable to brand-new ones at almost half price.

Smyth has announced that its cutting-edge technology and innovative finishing solutions are now ready to enhance value and drive profitability for Indian printers and binders, as well. It invites Indian book printers and exporters to meet its team of experts and have a look at its technology and new solutions.

David Smyth – the inventor of the thread book sewing method

Smyth is an Italian company that has been at the forefront of thread book sewing machines and finishing solutions production since 1879. It is the inventor of the thread book sewing method commonly known as ‘Smyth Sewing.’ The Irish-American visionary entrepreneur and inventor David McConnell Smyth filed the Smyth Sewing patent, established the company, and championed the shift from labour-intensive hand binding to the industrial-scale production of long-lasting books.

The global impact of the introduction of Smyth thread book sewing machines was huge with industrially produced section-sewn books flooding global markets. Schools, libraries, and homes gained access to knowledge as literacy rates soared. People from diverse backgrounds could now read, learn, and explore. The company founder’s legacy extended beyond business—it became a catalyst for education and enlightenment.

http://indianprinterpublisher.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SMYTH-headquarters-Web350.jpg

Today Smyth is an Italian-owned company with two manufacturing facilities including the Smyth 6,000 square meter headquarters 100 kilometers from Milan and the second site in Turin where all the mechanical components are manufactured. Designing, building, assembling and technical support, are strictly in-house to ensure products and services of the highest possible standards.

Domain experience

Whether it is binding a novel or securing a catalogue, Smyth’s expertise runs through every twist and turn of the thread with book sewing machines and finishing solutions for both offset and digital printing. Within Smyth’s factory, deep know-how flows as senior technicians pass down their secrets to apprentices and junior technicians who carry forward the legacy. Paper possesses a fascinating complexity beyond its physical form – it is a living entity that responds dynamically to its environment and different working conditions. It’s not just about nuts and bolts; it’s about the soul of sewing, competencies and skills in every machine and bookbinding solution offered to the market.

Smyth's extensive book sewing machines and finishing solutions range from simplified hand-fed and semi-automatic book sewing machines to fully automated solutions – including entry-level, special-purpose and oversized book sewing machines which represent our core business. Unique technical features, top-quality materials and patented devices make Smyth machines robust, reliable and durable for manufacturing high-quality compact sewn books.

Budget-friendly options

Acknowledging, that not every production budget can accommodate costly investments Smyth also offers competitive and cost-effective solutions without compromising quality. It has entry-level automatic book sewing machines. The company aims to deliver top-quality machines that align with each customer’s unique requirements, regardless of their company size.

http://indianprinterpublisher.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FX-80-semi-autimatic-book-sewing-machine-Web350.jpg

Its newly developed logic offers fast set-up times by automatically running the book program as soon as the signatures have been positioned in the gathering station, resulting in significant timesaving. For achieving and maintaining high-quality products and services, Smyth has implemented a Quality Management System covering all stages of design, production, sales and after-sales services.

The company delivers value-added after-sales service throughout the entire lifecycle of the investment. Its policy is to provide free of charge remote technical support to quickly and easily identify the source of any trouble. A qualified team is always on hand, and spare part availability is guaranteed with over 25,000 part numbers in stock.

Smyth machines built since 1967 are still in operation, and the company is capable of technical support and spare parts for them worldwide. In this regard, Smyth has already selected a list of potential Indian distributors – reputable and reliable companies – for meeting at drupa24 to establish an exclusive distribution channel in the region.

[greenhorn-art]

An Incomplete Account of That Guy, Ye Xiu by TheDefenestrator

Fandom: 全职高手 | The King's Avatar

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Words: 2,009

Chen Guo was not the first person to meet an adult “Ye Xiu”—he wasn’t that unused to pulling out his ID.

Collection: All-Stars: The King's Avatar Zine

ABOUT THE BOOK

FORMAT: Letter quarto (trimmed), flatback casebinding, french link stitch, no tapes

FONTS: Times New Roman, Permanent Marker [via Google Fonts], KaiTi

IMAGES:

MATERIALS: 24lb Xerox Bold Digital paper (8.5"x11"), 80pt binder's board (~2mm), 30/3 size waxed linen thread, 1.9mm cording, purple cardstock, Iris bookcloth: Grey Purple, DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic paint: Yellow Gold, 20lb printer paper, paste wax

PROGRAMS USED: Affinity Publisher, Bookbinder-JS

.

Snapshots of people meeting Ye Xiu, only to later learn he is Ye Qiu. A fun little fic! This fic is pretty much the theme of my latest three binds.

On July 2, 2024 I opened my AO3 bookmarks, looking for a short fic to bind. By July 7 I had a set of three completed books with the same premise.

[First, Second, Third]

I went with a black-and-white theme for the typeset, based off of the symbols for the scene breaks. Primarily set in Times New Roman for continuity between the three books. Permanent Marker was added into the mix because I wanted something more bold to go with the scene breaks. Chinese characters are in KaiTi, my go-to Simplified Chinese font.

Each scene break is an icon related to the preceding scene. The symbols are special characters in the font Segoe UI Symbol. Each one is unique (mostly because I really wanted to use the mahjong tiles).

💤 [zzz]: YX slumped almost sleeping in an internet café

🖧 [Three Networked Computers]: the crowd of playing games in an internet café

🚬 [a lit cigarette]: YX buying cigarettes

📸 [camera with flash]: All the photographer's photos YX 'photobombs'

🀫 [the back of a mahjong title]: the games YX plays with the auntie

[2 avatar icons, larger one in front, smaller one behind and to the right]: Employees backstage wondering about YX's presence there all these years

💼 [briefcase]: The office job the shop owners think YX has

✈ [airplane]: The flight YX's on where he gives a harried mother's son a game to play

💻 [laptop]: At the start of a competition a staff member meets YX | YQ

[gamepad video game controller]: The boy from the plane YX gave his handspeed testing game to

🏃 [running person]: The store owners who refer to YX as "that nice running boy"

📷 [camera]: The photographers and editors who bemoan the fact that they've been editing out their god this whole time

[avatar with a blocked status symbol] - "he doesn't even work here"

🀨 [Mahjong Autumn tile]: the mahjong tile is face-up now that YX's identity as YQ has been revealed. I was considering using 🀈 the Two of Characters tile because the character on it is 萬 (SC:万 wàn) meaning 10 000 which is a myriad, and the 2 for YX's double identities. ('Myriad Manifestations Umbrella' is a bit of a misnomer: a myriad constitutes ten thousand, while the 千 in 千机伞 is one thousand).

🗣 [silhouette of head shouting]: "Guys check this out!" everyone in the internet café is excited that their local expert is God Ye

🏪 [Convenience Store]: the cashier who sells cigarettes

[mouse and keyboard]: the internet café manager

I added a black box (slightly askew) to the title and headings for a slightly more graphic, black & white design to go with the symbols.

For the bookcloth I went with a desaturated purple because it gives me vaguely inconclusive/unknown/mysterious/incomplete vibes. The endpapers are a matching (if more saturated) purple, following the bookcloth-endpaper coordination within this set of books.

After cleaning up the edges of the textblock by trimming them, I painted the edges, and made the endbands. Because the books are all so thin I was able to reuse some of the bookcloth trimmed off the corners of the case. (The rest of the offcuts go into a bag. I hoard my scrap cloth, thread, and decorative paper to add swatches in my bookbinding catalogue).

I printed out a variety of labels: different sizes, different dimensions, plain text, title page. I chose a 1.5" square formatted like the title pages, waxed the paper, then positioned it slightly above centre.