In an effort to avoid scrolling endlessly and getting mad about everything, I'm going to give another shot at doing a #fanbinding.

I've made a few books here and there (some fics, some notebooks, etc), but hobbies have had a hard time sticking for me lately. But! I do adore the concept of fan binding, and I'd like to do more things that make fandom feel good, so why not try again.

I'll update here as I go.

Info on the #ofmd fic in the reply

A #fanbinding guide that was linked from The Rec Center: https://www.tumblr.com/ohnodontyoutouchmypizzarolls/723855826694111232/listen-to-your-elders

I’m so excited—that’s a wrapped-back binding, 包背裝 bāobèizhuāng! https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_East_Asian_Book_Formats#Wrapped_Back_Binding

Top tip to make it sturdier: put two paper twists through holes in the book block on the spine side, to keep it together when the glue fails and the cover comes off. Then it’s simple to add a new cover. See 1’25” in this video for a good demonstration: https://youtu.be/r-f2GXYn2R0

LB: I've been using Affinity Publisher for my #fanbinding / #bookbinding typesets for years now, and it's a great piece of software! No subscription fee means it'll pay for itself pretty quickly compared to InDesign, especially at 25% off.

Haven't done an #introduction post in a while, so for all the new arrivals: hi! I'm Phoenix. I do a lot of #bookbinding (especially #fanbinding lately as a means of preserving fandom history + just making really cool books of fanfic I love); I'm interested in #preservation, #bookconservation, #archives, and #rarebooks on a more professional level, too. Like every good former English major, I also #amwriting a couple novels with varying degrees of success.

New #fanbinding! "The Vienna Game" by paraTactician

#homestuck #ExCineribusBooks

https://excineribusbooks.tumblr.com/post/719137036044484608/the-vienna-game-by-paratactician-more-text

Qualified success! It seems like I *can* print directly onto the mulberry paper, iff it's sufficiently flattened out first. Wonder if I can iron it? You can iron paper, right?

I've also discovered how to set my printer to use custom paper sizes, so I don't have to cut and print whole A4 sheets when I only need 21cm x ~23 cm. Got to remember to write all this up later. #fanbinding

I had “finally wrangle typesetting until you have something printable for your next #fanbinding book” on my to-do list today anyway, and I’ve just found someone on the bookbinding server who’s also doing Chinese threadbound books, so now I’m inspired!

They’ve given me some hints for setting up the middle column between pages in Libre Office. Hope this makes it less of a struggle.

I'm cleaning up my old typeset of "The Roots Grow Riotous," since I've learned a lot in the two years since I made it and the author's since taken the fic offline. It has some incredibly complex chapter headings that mimic growing vines; they're probably my favorite thing I've ever done.

Guess who just accidentally saved over the original typeset and is gonna have to recreate at least five of those chapter headings by hand.

[gently lays head on desk]

#fanbinding

A week later and I'm still thinking about Her (the dozen tiny copies of "My Immortal" everyone made at the #RenegadeRetreat

#bookbinding #fanbinding

How it started (first #fanbinding I ever made) vs how it's going (current WIP that I just finished sewing)

#bookbinding #ExCineribusBooks #RenegadeRetreat

Good morning from MN and the #RenegadeRetreat! It's a little dreary (and apparently going to snow tomorrow???), but the company is lovely, and my face when I walked into the craft room to see so many gorgeous books and supplies was 😍😍😍😍😍

also I went thirdsies on a cow hide literally eight feet long and I regret n o t h i n g, 2023 is the year of Learning Leatherworking Or Bust

#bookbinding #fanbinding

I tripped and fell down a #BattlestarGalactica fandom nostalgia hole last night, so now I'm reading some novel-length Gaeta/Hoshi fic from like 2010 and wistfully contemplating another #fanbinding project. The authors have been AFK for literal years, so I don't know if I could get permission/offer them a copy, but maybe just for my personal collection...?

(Obviously it would have the lopped-off corners like an in-universe book. Just for starters.)

I'm interested in #fanbinding, but I'm not interested in spending money (this is only half a joke). I did watch someone review a bookbinding starter kit on YouTube the other day, and it seems a fair place to start if I'm not sure whether I'd like the hobby...

All right, gang, we're doing this! I'm offering up a #fanbinding work for Fandom Trumps Hate 2023: https://excineribusbooks.tumblr.com/post/710330851622289408/fandom-trumps-hate-2023

New #fanbinding! "The Crimson Lotus" by bonibaru

#Guardian #Weilan #ExCineribusBooks

https://excineribusbooks.tumblr.com/post/709830782889443328/the-crimson-lotus-by-bonibaru

New #fanbinding! "symmetry" by bleuett

#MDZS #TheUntamed #Wangxian #ExCineribusBooks

https://excineribusbooks.tumblr.com/post/709530418961072128/symmetry-by-bleuett

#fanbinding question: howwww to cut stacks of paper so it looks nice and not a ragged mess? I have tried today with a rotary cutter, a bookbinding knife and a scalpel, and I’m not satisfied. Maybe practice will make perfect?

Aha! It’s okay: it actually works to just pritt-stick the pages onto the printer paper at the head and tail. The paper gets a little crinkled at one end, but I’ll be cutting off that part anyway. #fanbinding

Turns out my inkjet printer won't print directly onto Wenzhou paper. I can stick the WZ paper onto printer paper with temporary adhesive, and it will print then! But gah, this means my workflow is going to be:

- cut ~40 sheets of ~A4 paper off the 69cm-wide roll by hand
- stick them each to a sheet of printer paper
- print
- re-print any that get messed up, because you know some will
- unstick
- leave to dry
- fold
- stack + clip together
- cut the stack to the right width

#fanbinding

New #fanbinding! "forgive us these days forgotten to fear" by batyatoon

#CriticalRole #VoxMachina #ExCineribusBooks

https://excineribusbooks.tumblr.com/post/706346354182602752/forgive-us-the-days-forgotten-to-fear-by