11 March 2020 - Book Making

 

Today’s blog is completely out of sequence. It refers to a taught session by Richard Higginbottom, all about bookmaking and binding in particular.

Richard is a highly experienced publisher through his company, Tide Press. Today we discussed the aesthetics and sensations that contribute to the production of a photobook. Including, the numerous types of paper stock, often known as printing and writing papers, available from a wide range of manufacturers, the sizes and shapes, the extensive range of colours and the differing textures of papers presented by the industry.

Books may be bound in many ways including saddle stitching (stapling in plain English), spiral binding, stitched, unbound (yes, really) and perfect binding (scraped and glued to the cover by the spine). The choice of covers represents a veritable minefield in their own right, they may include images/illustrations, embossing, words, nothing, symbols, foil blocking, gloss varnishing or anything that you could possibly wish for (at a price to cry for). However, as the proverb states, many people do choose a book by its cover.

Then there’s the contents of the book, this may comprise of pictures, text, occasional blank pages or a mixture of all. The objective is to retain the reader’s interest, not to induce sleep and, in most cases, not to offend their sensibilities. The subtilty of text is a skill in itself with the need to avoid rivers, widows, orphans, split words and any other faux pas that you may be totally unaware of.

As my project progresses I will describe the process and add flesh to the bones above. It was a fascinating session that provided much to think about, memorise and deploy at the appropriate production stage. Now, it’s back to taking pictures.