Maintenance
Paper craft case studies mistakes: 4 errors reading guides
Paper craft case studies mistakes: treating published guidance as a recipe, copying numbers without their method, and testing on the object you care about.
Archive
September 2026
Reviews
Paper craft materials: storage and housing
Paper craft case studies materials: storage and housing guidance — enclosures, paper and plastic, buffered board, and the standards worth knowing by name.
Reviews
A beginner examination kit: six cheap tools for looking, not making
Beginner kit for examining paper objects in 2027: six inexpensive items for looking rather than making, how to tell printing processes apart under a loupe.
Industry
Paper craft case studies: 5 lessons from two Mainz Bibles
Paper craft case studies from two Mainz Bibles, one written, one printed: five bench lessons on sewing supports, vellum, rebinding, page layout and slow work.
Features
Five paper craft exercises need no press and no studio at all
Five projects with no press and no studio: two papers, hand burnishing, dampening, a paper registration jig, and one process followed end to end.
Industry
Does the paper damage record actually point to water more than workmanship?
No case studies are invented here. What published salvage and emergency guidance shows about water, preparation, and what the record cannot tell you.
Reviews
Storing bookbinding tools means separate boxes for steel and organic stock
How to store materials used for bookbinding tools: steel wants dry, organic stock wants stable, and they should not share a box. Pest treatment, cavity packing.
Guides
A weekend of bookbinding tool drills: fifty cuts, fifty folds, a hundred piercings
Two days of bookbinding tool practice: fifty board cuts, fifty folds, a hundred piercings, ten sewn pamphlets and an overnight pressing comparison.
Reviews
Two tools can replace four: bookbinding categories compared for buyers
Categories compared on the one specification that matters in each, plus the two tools that replace four and how printers solved small-tool storage.
Guides
Photographing bookbinding tools: raking light is what makes texture show
Shoot tools in use, light them at a raking angle for texture, and decide the file format and storage before you shoot rather than after a drive fails.
Features
Archival standards for handmade books at the bench
Archival standards for handmade books, turned into bench choices: alkaline paper, linen thread, reversible paste, lignin-free board and a materials sheet.
Features
What a conservation lab inspection checks on a handmade book, in order
A fixed order for inspecting a handmade book: text block, sewing, boards, adhesive and pH, then housing, plus what a condition report should list.
Industry
Bookbinding machine access: questions to ask any studio
Bookbinding machine access, not lessons: the questions to ask before booking studio time, the search order to follow, and how to confirm hands-on use.
Reviews
Which error should decide your next bookbinding tool purchase?
No tools were bought or tested, so no ranking is given. A framework instead: survey first, judge by the error prevented, buy as failures appear.
Guides
Independent paper makers setup: drying is the constraint
An independent paper makers setup depends on drying capacity. Compare rack, restraint, and stack drying, their equipment needs, and humidity monitoring.
Costs
Independent paper makers: count cost per kept sheet, not per pull
Independent paper makers should divide each session's cost by kept sheets, then sort mold, press, felts, fiber and packing into one-time and recurring lines.
Reviews
Mold comes fourth on the shopping list for independent paper makers, not first
Buy the mold fourth, not first. The purchase order that works, why even pressure matters more than a press, and why one fiber beats three at once.
Industry
Fiber preparation stages for independent paper makers
Fiber preparation stages for independent paper makers: steaming, stripping, cooking, rinsing and beating, with Japanese practice and starting fibers.
Guides
What Library and Archives Canada and the CCI expect from a handmade book
Archival standards Canada: what Library and Archives Canada, CGSB paper rules and CCI notes ask of handmade books, from adhesives to documentation.
Reviews
Independent paper makers: four surfaces needed, and only one is a bench
Four surfaces, four jobs, and only one is a bench. Heights, materials that survive standing water, and why couching decides how many sheets you keep.
Industry
Book arts guild Canada: CBBAG and regional groups to join
Book arts guild Canada: what CBBAG membership includes, how to join, and the named regional groups from Vancouver to St. John's and their workshops.
Guides
Calgary and Saskatoon pressing in dry prairie air, a working checklist
Prairie binders fight 20 to 30 per cent indoor humidity. Condition board, cook paste thick, and dry every glued book under weight in still air.
Features
Quebec bookbinding terms and the French-language resources worth owning
Bookbinding in French Quebec means learning terms like couture and reliure d'art, plus guilds, manuals and letterpress traditions in Montreal and Quebec City.
Industry
Canada Council and provincial arts council grants for a book arts studio
Canada Council grants for artists cover project and equipment costs in book arts studios, and provincial councils add more. Here is how to apply and budget.
Reviews
Sourcing bookboard and paper in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver compared
Canadian paper suppliers in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver compared on bookboard stock, minimums, shipping and pickup, so you can choose local or mail order.
Costs
Why do Manitoban and Newfoundlander binders pay so much on US parcels?
Cross-border craft shipping Canada costs more to Manitoba and Newfoundland because brokerage, duty and postal fees stack on small US parcels.
Costs
How GST/HST and duty work when Canadians buy bookbinding supplies abroad
Bookbinding supplies in Canada: how CRA GST/HST registration, CBSA duty and brokerage, and rebate claims work on parcels from the US and Europe.
Maintenance
How coastal humidity in Halifax and Victoria changes your drying schedule
Humidity and bookbinding in Canada: Halifax and Victoria need different targets, drying times and storage rules, with guild contacts for each coast.
Maintenance
3 ways Ontario winters dry paper, and what to change at the press
Winter paper drying Canada has three causes: cold outdoor air, indoor heating and forced-air circulation. Adjust paste, board handling and pressing time.
Industry
Independent paper makers, explained by collections: no watchlist needed here
Independent paper makers in 2027 are showcased through their collections, covering what each mill makes and how their sheets reach studios and shops.
Maintenance
When a bookbinding symptom appears, which cause should you check first?
Bookbinding mistakes beginners make at home: work backwards from the symptom. A diagnostic table, how to tell built-in faults from storage damage.
Guides
Bookbinding Supply Stores in New York City: A Local Buyer's Guide
Bookbinding supply stores in New York City split two ways: a Brooklyn specialist stocked for structure, and Manhattan art shops with partial ranges.
Reviews
Davey Board vs Chipboard: Which Book Cover Board Holds Up?
Davey board vs chipboard comes down to density, acidity and price: buy Davey for case bindings and chipboard for mock-ups and practice covers.
Guides
What Is GST/HST on Bookbinding Supplies in Canada?
GST/HST on bookbinding supplies in Canada: the 5% GST and HST rates by province, how the rate is chosen, the tax a supplier charges when you buy, and how a registered studio claims it back.
Guides
Import bookbinding tools via Canada customs: invoice, CARM, records
Import bookbinding tools through Canada customs with fewer delays: CBSA invoice rules and Form CI1, CARM registration, classification and six-year records.
Costs
Linen Thread vs Cotton Thread for Bookbinding: Which Should You Buy?
Linen thread vs cotton thread bookbinding comes down to stretch, price and how long the spine must last. Here are US prices, sizes and the case for each.
Guides
Bookbinding Sewing Frame vs Lying Press: A Beginner's Guide
Bookbinding sewing frame vs lying press, compared with US prices, criteria and the case for each. A beginner guide to buying the right one first.
Guides
US arts grants for independent paper makers and book artists: tiers and application sequence
A practical guide to US arts grants for independent paper makers and book artists: tiers, applicant status, budget, work sample and the application sequence.
Reviews
Choosing recoverable materials keeps a bookbinding mistake from becoming permanent
Choose so a mistake stays recoverable. Reversible adhesives, replaceable coverings, materials that carry their own hazards, and a ten-minute test.
Reviews
Bookbinding mistakes: what a beginner's notebook should record
A beginner's bookbinding notebook, one page per book: the five lines that catch grain, tension, adhesive, pressing and swell mistakes before they repeat.
Industry
Bookbinding faults: name the part, then write the condition note
A table of binding parts and the faults named for them, how old repairs read, and a four line condition note you can write before deciding what to do.
Features
6 short exercises that turn bookbinding mistakes into deliberate lessons
Six short bench exercises that each make one failure happen on purpose, so grain, tension, adhesive and time stop being things you read about.
Maintenance
Bookbinding Mistakes: Structural Failures to Watch For
Bookbinding mistakes often start before a book is finished. Learn common structural failures, their causes, and practical ways to prevent them at the bench.
Reviews
Marbling supplies split into three separate storage problems, not one
How to store materials used for paper marbling: dry goods, wet chemistry and finished sheets each want different conditions. Alumed paper does not keep.
Guides
Paper marbling learning plan: a weekend schedule
A paper marbling learning plan for one weekend: prepare alum and size Friday, practice Saturday, then rinse, dry and flatten sheets Sunday.
Reviews
Trays compared first: paper marbling equipment, sorted category by category
Paper marbling equipment compared by category, starting with trays: what each item must do, which plastics survive size and pigment, and what to make yourself.
Guides
What actually solves glare when you photograph paper marbling patterns?
How to photograph: glare and fine detail are the two problems. Light angle, bit depth, file format, and why the detail frame is the one people actually respond.
Industry
Paper marbling classes: questions to ask and notes to keep
Questions to ask before booking a paper marbling class: the four causes of a gray sheet, who mixes the size and alum, which style to learn first.