segunda-feira, 24 de dezembro de 2012

Fio, grão, fibra


Há pessoas que não conseguem distinguir o grão de uma folha de papel. Suas dúvidas terminam aqui (a menos que vc não saiba inglês ou não conheça ninguém que saiba.) As fotos ajudam àqueles que não tem intimidade com a língua inglesa, e mantive as referências e os sitios de origem. Obviamente, o meu trabalho limitou-se a fuçar a rede, de cima para baixo e de leste a oeste. Este quase "how to" copiei, totalmente, do sitio  My Handbound Books, de Rhonda Miller. Rhonda, darling, se vc não gosta de ver seu lindo trabalho divulgado, post a comment e eu retiro o post, muito a contragosto.

Bookbinding 101 - Paper Grain

I've been calling my tutorials "bookbinding 101" so I really should have done this particular tutorial first. I spend a substantial amount of time worrying about paper grain direction when I'm making my books.

So, as far as I know, all machine-made papers have a grain direction. This applies to standard printer paper, cardstock, drawing paper, watercolour paper, etc, as well as binder's board or other boards. Basically every paper material that we use for making books – except handmade paper.

So the grain is a result of the way the fibers align during the paper making process. With handmade paper, the fibers are all over the place so there is no grain. But machine made paper will have the fibers all aligned in the same direction. Sometimes if you have some classic laid paper or other nice paper, you can see the lines. The lines that are really close together are along the grain – then the perpendicular lines that are spaced several inches apart are against the grain, I believe those lines show where the paper was laid...so, classic laid... I'm composing this from memory of my bookbinding classes with Joe Landry and Stephanie Dean-Moore, from 5-6 years ago, so hopefully my memory isn't too faulty.

I just scanned the web and found an article about paper grain by Richard P Grant, which looks very informative and much more detailed that my little description: http://www.hewit.com/sd10-pape.htm

It is important to be aware of the paper's grain direction so that your books close properly, and so they will open properly, and so the spine will keep its shape, and so the boards don't warp, etc, I'm sure there are many many more reasons.

The direction of the paper grain should always always always be parallel to the spine of the book.

So the first part of my tutorial will focus on how to determine the grain direction of a piece of paper. I've never met a paper that I couldn't figure out.

Test 1

I always start with this test and it usually works. Just lightly bend the paper over and push down a little bit on the curved fold – without actually making a crease. Then lightly fold it the other way and press on it. Whichever direction presents the least resistance when you press lightly on the curved fold, then that is the grain direction. In these photos, I’m using standard 8.5" x 11" printer paper. It is always grain long – so when I bend it the long way (photo on the right), it is very easy to bend and there is much less resistance compared to when I tried it the other way.


Test 2
If Test 1 doesn't tell you for sure, I will let the paper hang over the edge of the table. Place the paper at the edge of the table, about half on and half off. Look to see how much angle there is where the paper bends. Then turn the paper around and do it again. Whichever direction has the most bend to it, then that is the direction of the grain.

In this photo, the paper in the foreground is bending along the grain. The paper in the background is bending across the grain so it doesn’t flop over the edge of the table as much. This was difficult to photograph but sometimes the difference is quite dramatic so if you try it, it can be quite obvious which direction is along the grain.


Test 3
This test requires that you destroy the paper, but it is quite reliable. Simply try to tear the paper straight down the middle. If it tears in a relatively straight line, then the tear is parallel with the grain - shown here by the black arrow. If you get a curved tear, or it is just impossible to go straight when you rip the paper, then you are tearing across the grain.


Test 4
If all else fails, I lick the paper. Cut off a corner and note its orientation – so I mark the long and short direction on it usually. Then just lick it, and place it on the table. Because it is damp, it will curl. The valley of the curl will be parallel to the grain direction, shown here by the black arrow. The key with this test is to remember how this little corner fits back onto your larger sheet of paper, otherwise the test isn't very helpful!


I have created two book blocks that are the same size, but one has the paper grain intentionally going the wrong way.


I have bound both of these book blocks because I was hoping to show how much incredibly better the 'good grain' book functions. The pages just lay so nicely in comparison to the book with the bad grain. Oh, just look at the beautiful open-book-shape of the good-grain book here. Other book…not so beautiful.


One thing that I really like is the fanning of a book's pages. Having the grain direction going the wrong way just devastates this wonderful feature of a book – it is more likely to just spurt in chunks rather than perform a lovely fluttering fan.


I made a brief video of this fanning process to more effectively show the difference. So in this clip, the bad sputtering book is shown first, followed by the nicely flowing fanning book.



I haven't been doing many hardcover books lately so when it comes to paper grain, my primary concern is with the book block; however, the paper grain factor just grows and grows when a hard cover is introduced.

I am not working on any hardcover books right now so I don’t have photos for this next part, but let me try to explain why it is important to be aware of the grain direction when making a hardcover book, and how it can be very useful too.

Binder's board can be tested for grain direction by just trying to bend it, so you can feel which way bends easiest. Or if you have a really big sheet of board, laying it half on and half off the table and checking to see how much it bends over the edge of the table will work too (like test 2 described above).

The grain direction of the binder’s board needs to be parallel to the spine, just like the grain direction of the book block. It is important to make sure that the grain direction of your covering paper is also parallel to the spine.

Papers expand when they are wet, and they usually expand more across the grain. So if you spread paste onto a piece of decorative paper, it will be slightly larger after it absorbs the moisture of the paste. This expansion will be most noticeable across the grain. So when you put this wet paper onto the binder's board, then let the paper dry, the paper shrinks back to its original size…pulling the edges of the binder's board with it as it shrinks…causing the warp. Now if you apply past to another piece of decorative paper and adhere it to the other side of the binder's board and let it dry, when that second piece of paper shrinks back to its original size, it will pull the board in the opposite direction and make the whole thing flat again. No need to press while drying!

But this will only work if the board and both pieces of paper all have the grain directions parallel. Also, it will be most effective if the two pieces of decorative paper are the same kind of paper, so that they react the same and expand the same amount when damp. If the two pieces of paper are quite different in weight or density, then one piece might expand a lot more than the other thus not pulling the board back perfectly flat while drying.

If the papers are not the same, then the boards should be pressed while drying, but even pressing boards will not guarantee that they won’t warp now or at some point in the future.

Keep the grains parallel to the spine all the time, always. Your book will open better. The pages will fan nicely and lie open flat. The covers will dry flat. The spine will be stronger. The entire book unit will be more cohesive. The book will have a longer life.

I sure hope that this makes sense to anybody who is trying to learn about paper grain. Or for anybody that already knows about this stuff, please let me know if I haven’t presented it clearly.

Now, I have to go dismantle the bad-grain book block that I made for this post...

quinta-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2012

Bolsos para Capas Flexíveis

Uma boa ideia para os cadernos de capas flexíveis, principalmente para guardar pequenos comprovantes ou notas.

A ideia não é minha, copiei no Pininterest, do painel de Paula Beardell Krieg, Book Cover tutorial by Paula Beardell Krieg. Eu fiz com papel double face e ficou muito interessante!

terça-feira, 18 de dezembro de 2012

Sonho de consumo

Não tem jeito....época de Natal, o consumo dos atinge, de uma forma ou de outra. Esta maquineta de encadernação pode aparecer lá na oficina nova, quando quiser!!!

Mais informações, você pode obter em Eden Workshops... mas aviso: pode fazer mal a saúde mental!!!...rs...

terça-feira, 11 de dezembro de 2012

Formas de enlouquecer...



Há várias, mas entrar no sítio Abebooks, começar a ler sobre os livros, depois entrar na parte de "Limited Editions Club" e xeretar os 1900 e tantos resultados é de enlouquecer qualquer pessoa que acredita que o livro  serve para alguma coisa além de "dar sono", ou matar insetos, depende do enfoque...

Como sou fanático por poesia e ficção científica (é, não faz o menor sentido, mas é isso mesmo!), qualquer volume de poesia e/ou ficção científica do Clube das Edições Limitadas seria um presente interessante, mas o Walt Whitmann e o Ray Bradbury de alumínio provocariam uma certa comoção e gratidão eterna. Os relatórios de viagem do Richard Burton também não fariam feio embaixo da minha árvore de Natal....Tks...

Caso vc se sinta tentado a comprar algum dos exemplares à venda, por favor, prestem atenção às dicas do próprio sítio em relação à segurança da operação de compra.

segunda-feira, 10 de dezembro de 2012

Costura Japonesa

São tantas, né? Minha preocupação no momento....achei este esquema, muito bem feito e claro...espero que aproveitem! Copiei do sitio amphian.com, a quem agradeço muito.

Tortoise Shell Binding

Measure three-quarters of an inch from the spine of the book and mark four holes along this line, where the outer holes (red) are three-quarters of an inch from the edges of the book and the other two holes (magenta) divide the space between the outer holes into thirds. Then measure three-eighths of an inch from the spine of the book place one pair of holes a quarter of an inch to either side of the holes in the first row (blue). The distances can be calcuated below:

Height (green):
Stab Bound Measurements
Row Nearer to SpineRow Farther from Spine
3/8 Inches from Spine3/4 Inches from Spine
Inches from Top:Inches from Top:
Blue:Red:
Blue:
Blue:Magenta:
Blue:
Blue:Magenta:
Blue:
Blue:Red:
Blue:

Make sure the covers and pages are aligned and use the awl to punch the holes. After punching the holes, the book can be stitched. The amount of thread needed is approximately six times the height of the book. When in doubt, cut the thread long. While stitching, take care not to rip the holes, but pull the thread as taut as possible. Too much give in the binding will leave the pages unsupported. The following is the Tortoise Shell binding pattern:

A view of the book with the four holes punched three quarters of an inch and eight holes punched three eighths of an inch from the spine. The back cover is on top and the spine in the front.Step 1: Push the needle up through the spine through the pages near the back of the book and through the inner right hole in the row farther from the spine. Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back to the inner right hole. Leave a small tail inside the book to be used later to tie the knot.
Tortoise Shell Stab 0Tortoise Shell Stab 1
Step 2: Push the needle up through the inner right hole in the row farther from the spine and down through the hole to the right in the row closer to the spine.Step 3: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back down through the same hole and up through the inner right hole in the row farther from the spine.
Tortoise Shell Stab 2Tortoise Shell Stab 3
Step 4: Push the needle down through the hole to the left in the row closer to the spine.Step 5: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back down through the same hole.
Tortoise Shell Stab 4Tortoise Shell Stab 5
Step 6: Push the needle up through the inner right hole in the row farther from the spine and up through the inner left hole in the same row.Step 7: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back down through the same hole.
Tortoise Shell Stab 6Tortoise Shell Stab 7
Step 8: Push the needle up through the hole to the right in the row closer to the spine. Loop the the needle and thread around the spine and back up through the same hole.Step 9: Push the needle down through the inner left hole in the row farther from the spine and up through the hole to the left in the row closer to the spine.
Tortoise Shell Stab 8Tortoise Shell Stab 9
Step 10: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back up through the same hole.Step 11: Push the needle down through the inner left hole in the row farther from the spine and up through the outer left hole in the same row.
Tortoise Shell Stab 10Tortoise Shell Stab 11
Step 12: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back up through the same hole.Step 13: Push the needle down through the hole to the right in the row closer to the spine. Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back down through the same hole.
Tortoise Shell Stab 12Tortoise Shell Stab 13
Step 14: Push the needle up through the outer left hole in the row farther from the spine and down through the hole to the left in the row closer to the spine.Step 15: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back down through the same hole.
Tortoise Shell Stab 14Tortoise Shell Stab 15
Step 16: Push the needle up through the outer left hole in the row farther from the spine. Loop the needle and thread around the bottom of the book and back up through the same hole.Step 17: Push the needle up through the outer left hole in the row farther from the spine and down through the inner left hole in the same row.
Tortoise Shell Stab 16Tortoise Shell Stab 17
Step 18: Push the needle up through the inner right hole in the row farther from the spine and down through the outer right hole in the same row.Step 19: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back down through the same hole.
Tortoise Shell Stab 18Tortoise Shell Stab 19
Step 20: Push the needle up through the hole to the right in the row closer to the spine. Loop the the needle and thread around the spine and back up through the same hole.Step 21: Push the needle down through the outer right hole in the row farther from the spine and up through the hole to the left in the row closer to the spine.
Tortoise Shell Stab 20Tortoise Shell Stab 21
Step 22: Loop the needle and thread around the spine and back up through the same hole.Step 23: Push the needle down through the inner right hole in the row farther from the spine. Loop the needle and thread around the top of the book and back down through the same hole.
Tortoise Shell Stab 22Tortoise Shell Stab 23
Step 24: Push the needle down through the outer right hole in the row farther from the spine and then up through the inner left hole in the same row.Step 25: Use the needle to tie a knot with the remaining thread and the tail left earlier. Pull the knot into the book through the inner right hole and trim off excess thread.
Tortoise Shell Stab 24Tortoise Shell Stab 25

sábado, 8 de dezembro de 2012

Olhando 2012, pensando em 2013!!


De novembro, o que há de melhor é que dezembro vem aí....já começo a pensar em como foi o ano que passou, o que quero para o próximo ano, se é que quero realmente alguma coisa.

2012 tem o crime imperdoável de nos ter tirado a Teresa, a Teresoca, a Tetê...preciso urgente de um Levandowski na minha vida para que as coisas boas que aconteceram no ano não sejam penalizadas tão fortemente pela perda de nossa melhor amiga.

Comprei minha sala, o atelier deve estar pronto em meados de janeiro, correndo tudo bem (isto significa que o pedreiro tem de beber um pouco menos e trabalhar mais, o marceneiro entregar as peças a tempo, não faltar material no revendedor que recebeu adiantado, a pedra da pia ser furada no lugar certo, e uma ou outra coisinha!!). Mas não se escutarão os passos arrastados de Teresa subindo as escadas, queixando-se do coração, que, cansado mas não traiçoeiro, resolveu descansar antes dela.....
.
Conseguimos arrancar  um dinheirinho bastante bom da United, pelo tratamento indecoroso que nos proporcionou quando tivemos um problema provocado apenas por ela em Nova Iorque. Demorou, a justiça brasileira não merece maiúsculas, mas nos indenizaram em uma quantidade suficiente para não nos importarmos mais de sermos chamados de mentirosos pelos advogados da United. Um caso típico de bem-feito!!Bastaria um email se desculpando, United!! Mas a Teresa não chegará em casa, furibunda e furiosa, reclamando da Tim, da Claro, do serviço público, dos transportes...e os táxis do Rio deixaram de ter um controle de qualidade muito competente...

Convivemos bastante com a Carolina, minha irmã, embora eu tenha certeza de que ela se rebelará contra o advérbio "bastante" (é advérbio mesmo?), fomos viajar com amigos, o que nos ensinou, de forma às vezes dolorosa, às vezes divertida, que nosso aproach em turismo é mesmo solitário. Somos eu e Alberto contra o mundo e vamos dando conta da batalha, sem ajuda...rs...Mas a Teresa não fará sua viagem, tão sonhada, à Europa e planejada nos mínimos detalhes!!Perde Paris, já que ficará sem os comentários saborosos da Tetê!! Recebemos os guias de volta e ficamos olhando para eles, sem a função que nos faria mais felizes. Paris , de agora em diante, tem mais este peso para carregar, mas também a alegria de ter a Teresoca para sempre por lá, onde estão (parte de ) suas cinzas.

Na verdade, foi um ano muito positivo, comprei minha sala para que o atelier que sempre sonhei possa tomar forma, acertei algumas pendências da vida e fui criando outras, para que tudo não exibisse a monotonia dos certinhos e regulados. Mas nos falta a Teresa para bagunçar os conceitos com as incoerências e inconstâncias que nos divertiam tanto.

Meus cursos de encadernação me levaram até a Prof Marisa Garcia de Souza (tem o "de" aí, Marisa?), uma professora cuidadosa, exigente, que provoca estímulos muito positivos no aprender da encadernação. Não tenho agradecimentos também por ela ter me apresentado a Estela Villela, outra professora cuidadosa e gentil, cheia da sabedoria de transmitir, o que não é pouco!! E à Gabriela, Rosa e Mônica, os agradecimentos que nunca serão suficientes para dizer da minha admiração e gratidão pela generosidade de terem partilhado seus conhecimentos comigo. Mas não teremos mais a Teresoca nos ensinando a beber Negroni, a comprar a melhor salada de frutas e o melhor pão, enfim, não teremos mais nossa "caga goma" favorita!!!


2012, então, fica nos devendo esta! Espero que 2013 seja tão bom quanto 2012, apesar desta desfeita, foi!! Aproveito os dias de muito para agradecer pelos dias de pouco, que sempre foi suficiente. E espero, do fundo do coração, que o consolo que procuramos pela falta que a Teresa nos faz esteja mais à mão do que conseguimos perceber, quatro meses depois de sua ida para as pradarias divinas...A vida segue, é claro, mas temos que admitir que, a partir de agosto, segue incompleta!!

Feliz 2013!!!

quinta-feira, 6 de dezembro de 2012

Revista Cadernos

Em formato apenas digital, tem muitas informações úteis. Pode ser muito divertida e instrutiva também.

Vejam em Revista Cadernos e aproveitem...