Inkjet paper for handmade books

[Jeremy Moore]

I'm trying to come up with an inkjet paper choice for a handmade book.

The idea is to make Japanese stab-bind handmade books and I'm toying with printing the images digitally. My first book will be 13" x 19" printed on Museo Silver Rag (as I have an unopened box at home), but I'm wondering if there are better printing options available for a book.

My printer options are an Epson 7800 with photoblack in (which is my preference if possible as this is the printer at home) or an Epson 7600 with matte black ink (but this guy is a 50 minute round trip away and is a student printer so has been abused to hell).

I don't want to deal with roll paper as it's a lot easier to stick with sheet paper size (8.5"x11" up through 17"x22" if possible) for the binding. From those with more paper experience than I would you suggest going to a matte black paper or maybe one of the newer bartya papers (I hear good things about the Ilford Gold Fiber Glossy). From what I have read online these papers are a little fragile, but I could bind vellum paper in between each of the pages.

I also know I could go with a book printed through Blurb or a similar source, but that defeats part of the handmade aesthetic (there will also be an edition with tipped in salt prints).

[Donald Miller]

Considering your desired output, have you considered Hahnemuhle Bamboo? It is a paper made from bamboo fibers and is advertised as a "spiritual black and white or color paper". Not glossy but a very nice matte paper.

If you want to go glossy than I like Ilford Gold Silk a lot.

[tjvitale]

I'm not sure of the look you are going for, but Japanese style binding does not go with a coated paper, let alone a thick western paper. The book will be hard to open. In general, that binding type is used with much softer paper, so with the binding in one hand the book will” flop” open to the page or section needed. Coated papers would make the structure very stiff. Inkjet Mall has a group of coated Japanese papers; some are quite thick and smooth. They have a receiver coating, but no white or Baryta layer. I have used them quite often to make facsimiles of Japanese and Chinese bound books. There is a lot of back and forth on color matching, and the gamuts are small, but they look right in the end. I print on a 9600 using Ultrachrome (reg Black).

You might want to think about post-bound technology using handmade rivets. Those aluminum and acrylic screw & post sets are not very attractive. Any type of paper will look appropriate, and stiff thick pages will be accommodated. One can even make your own cloth-covered cover, with a hinge. This makes the book easy to open and adds a real touch of handmade sophistication.

The metal rivets should have a plastic sleeve where the metal passes through the pages. Hand flatten the brass, copper or bronze rivet on one side in advance, then seat it in the drilled hole with its plastic collar and planish down the other side in place.

The cover hinge is made by the cloth, which spans the gap between the main cover and the binding strip with the holes. I suppose you could sew through the drilled holes with heavy linen thread to mimic Japanese/Chinese binding style. The key would be the ½”-wide binding strip hinged to the main cover, so the cover will open without undue force.

Sounds like fun. I have made a few of these myself, but without the hand planished rivets.

Tim Vitale
Paper, Photographs &
Electronic Media Conservator
Film Migration (still) to Digital Format
Digital Imaging & Artwork Facsimiles
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[Walter Foscari]

Matte Vs Pearl/Gloss paper? Personally I much prefer matte with inkjet output, I think the new photo like surfaces need a little more development to reach the standards of a good matte paper. The problem is that the matte paper is much more sensitive to handling, stick your fingers on a nice black area and you've ruined the print. So if you use matte the pages should either be protected in some ways or the book handled with white gloves.

[D. Bryant]

I'm trying to come up with an inkjet paper choice for a handmade book.

The idea is to make Japanese stab-bind handmade books and I'm toying with printing the images digitally. My first book will be 13" x 19" printed on Museo Silver Rag (as I have an unopened box at home), but I'm wondering if there are better printing options available for a book.

My printer options are an Epson 7800 with photoblack in (which is my preference if possible as this is the printer at home) or an Epson 7600 with matte black ink (but this guy is a 50 minute round trip away and is a student printer so has been abused to hell).

I don't want to deal with roll paper as it's a lot easier to stick with sheet paper size (8.5"x11" up through 17"x22" if possible) for the binding. From those with more paper experience than I would you suggest going to a matte black paper or maybe one of the newer bartya papers (I hear good things about the Ilford Gold Fiber Glossy). From what I have read online these papers are a little fragile, but I could bind vellum paper in between each of the pages.

I also know I could go with a book printed through Blurb or a similar source, but that defeats part of the handmade aesthetic (there will also be an edition with tipped in salt prints).
Jeremy,

Check out the Red River Aurora Fine Art White or Natural White papers. It can be printed on both sides, 100% cotton ligin free, comporable to Epson Velvet Fine Art and is very affordable.

I know you said you aren't interested in rolls but they are on sale now. Check it out:

http://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/art.htm

http://www.redrivercatalog.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RRP&Category_Code=17rolls

I've used the paper with the Red River Aurora profiles and it prints pretty well though a custom profile would probably be a little better. Works great with QTR also.

Good luck,

Don Bryant

[lloyd]

keep in mind that the grain direction of any paper used should run parallel to the spine of the book.......handmade papers have no or 'omnidirectional' grain, so not an issue there, but anything machine made......

[Jeremy Moore]

Jeremy,

Check out the Red River Aurora Fine Art White or Natural White papers. It can be printed on both sides, 100% cotton ligin free, comporable to Epson Velvet Fine Art and is very affordable.

Good luck,

Don Bryant

I'm guessing this is to be used with Matte Black, *groan*, though the double-sided printing is a definite plus! I've decided that rolls won't be big deal if I get a stack cutter (which I'll get if I decide to do a large number of books anyway) to block off big stacks of prints. Red River is actually local-ish to me so I'll see if I can get some sample sheets to try it out.

[Jeremy Moore]

keep in mind that the grain direction of any paper used should run parallel to the spine of the book.......handmade papers have no or 'omnidirectional' grain, so not an issue there, but anything machine made......

Yep, yep, I'm using good bookcraft so all of my grain (paper, bookboards, and bookcloth) runs parallel to the spine.

[adrian tyler]

Yep, yep, I'm using good bookcraft so all of my grain (paper, bookboards, and bookcloth) runs parallel to the spine.

great forum...

[Greg Miller]

Moab Entrada is a double sided paper too.

[Jeremy Moore]

great forum...

I'm confused, adrian, what is this supposed to mean?

[Jeremy Moore]

Moab Entrada is a double sided paper too.

Thanks, Greg, I didn't know Moab was double-sided.

Are there any double-sided papers that take photo black on the market?

[jnantz]

jeremy

one thing you might consider, no matter what paper you decide to use
is to make a small book ( empty ) a fraction of the size of the one / ones you plan on making.
you may find that some papers hinge better ( or worse ) with the cover.


good luck ( and have fun! )

john

[George Stewart]

I'd recommend double-sided matte paper in roll-size. In the books I've made, it allowed me to have an over-matt for each image, which reduces scratches and the like. I think it would be easy to prepare a template in photoshop that would allow images to be dropped in place and simply printed out. The template would have marks that would allow a window to be cut and subsequently folded over the actual image rather than cut and glued on top of the image's page, and holes pierced (for sewing), etc. Here are some examples of some silver gelatin books I've assembled. Note, each print is over-matted, and the binding technique allows for pages to lie flat.

[photographs42]

You need to be aware that few double sided papers print exactly the same on both sides.

Jerome