Changed my mind about using PVA for everything after a chat at the Portland book fair

I was gluing up a text block for a cookbook last week and a binder I met said, "That spine will crack in a year if you don't let it flex." So I switched to a wheat paste mix for the spine and kept the PVA just for the boards. What do you all use for heavy books that get opened a lot?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesr7517d ago

Portland book fair binder just saved your cookbook from disaster. I used straight PVA on a big family photo album project last year and the spine split clean in half after six months of gentle use. Now I mix a little methyl cellulose into the PVA for spines, gives it that slow flex. Wheat paste is the old school way, that binder knows their stuff.

the_kim17d ago

Honestly that spine split thing is so real. Straight PVA gets brittle fast on thicker books. Adding a bit of methyl cellulose is the move for sure, makes all the difference.