Photo book binder?

[Thenolands]

Does anyone know of any service that will bind pages that I print into a book? I haven't found an online service that seems able to print at the quality I can get out of my printer but I don't have the equipment necessary to do my own binding.

[Mark D Segal]

I don't know where you live, but the binder I use here in Toronto is first-class by any standard, and reasonable. The thing about binding is that you need to decide on the materials with him, and the best way to do that is to see them and evaluate their suitability relative to your prints. If you are outside of Canada he would need to handle external shipping and I'm not sure whether he does that. If you are interested, his website is here:Don Taylor, Toronto. You could email him about handling orders by remote.

[rdonson]

Mark, what an amazing operation. The thought, craft and art is stunning. It's is heart warming to know that people and skills like this still exist.

[Thenolands]

Wow! That is incredible! Thank you for the link. I am helping a family member put together a portfolio of my grandmothers paintings and this looks like a tremendous option. Not inexpensive but would preserve the prints better than other options I have seen I'm sure.

[Thenolands]

Could I get your expertise on media selection for such a project? What would give a good combination of color rendition and durability (hands/oils touching pages, flipping pages, etc.)?

[Damon Lynch]

Mark, what an amazing operation. The thought, craft and art is stunning. It's is heart warming to know that people and skills like this still exist.

But does partake in the largely forgotten tradition of anthropodermic bibliopegy? 

[Mark D Segal]

Could I get your expertise on media selection for such a project? What would give a good combination of color rendition and durability (hands/oils touching pages, flipping pages, etc.)?

No media is particularly friendly to hands/oils. As for flipping pages, the more flexible the better. The more flexible papers are usually those with cotton rag substrate that come in at up to around 300/315 gsm and 0.5 mm thickness. These papers can be coated for either PK or MK ink. For PK, Hahn Photorag Baryta would be a good choice. For MK Hahn Photorag would be a good choice. The latter also comes in a 2-side coated version (with one size specifically for books - see my article) which is nice if you want the photos printed on both sides of the page. Moab Lasal Dual Semigloss is also 2-sided, and a quite nice Luster paper. I have reviewed all these papers in various articles on this website, plus a large number of others. Personally, I print a lot on Ilford Gold Fibre Silk, which is kind of heavy with an alpha-cellulose substrate, but Don binds it very nicely for me and the resulting book, whether Letter size or Super A3 is very manageable. He's bound up to 100 pages Letter size and 75 or so of the Super A3. This is kind of testing the limits, but it works.

[Alan Goldhammer]

If it can be printed in a matte finish, Moab Entrada is a very nice paper and is coated on both sides.  I've done some reproductions for a local artist on that paper and she likes the finish.

[Mark D Segal]

If it can be printed in a matte finish, Moab Entrada is a very nice paper and is coated on both sides.  I've done some reproductions for a local artist on that paper and she likes the finish.

Yes, it IS a matte paper (not IF). I just finished reviewing it in my latest article on this website. And I agree - nice paper, also good for books. In fact I may have mentioned that.

[MHMG]

Yes, it IS a matte paper (not IF). I just finished reviewing it in my latest article on this website. And I agree - nice paper, also good for books. In fact I may have mentioned that.

Also note that Moab Entrada cut sheet boxes are marked with lot numbers that designate short grain or long grain, an important consideration for books and albums. Short grain will have "GS" in the lot number. Long grain will have "GL" in the lot number. For photo books and albums, running the grain parallel to the bound side of the book helps the flexibility when turning the page, so for example, you would want "grain short" if producing a book in landscape format and "grain long" for producing in portrait format. That said, Moab's SKU number is unfortunately the same for both GL and GS lot types, so you or your dealer will have to hand pick stock in order to get what you want. 

Hahnemuhle Book and Album paper caters directly to this issue, and you can order grain long or grain short versions directly.  However, HN Book and Album paper does contain some OBAs whereas Moab Entrada Natural does not (but Entrada Bright does contain OBAs), and Moab Entrada is considerably less expensive in the US and probably Canada than Hahnemuhle Book and Album paper. I'm not sure about pricing in Europe.

cheers,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

[Wayne Fox]

Yes, it IS a matte paper (not IF). I just finished reviewing it in my latest article on this website. And I agree - nice paper, also good for books. In fact I may have mentioned that.

I think you misread his statement.  If wasn't being used in the context of whether it was a matt paper or not, but in the context if the OP could/would utilize a matt paper for the book, and if so then Entrada is a paper to consider.

[Mark D Segal]

OK.

[Alan Goldhammer]

I think you misread his statement.  If wasn't being used in the context of whether it was a matt paper or not, but in the context if the OP could/would utilize a matt paper for the book, and if so then Entrada is a paper to consider.

Yes, that's correct.  I started printing on it after a discussion with Mark McCormick-Goodhart who pointed out that it has very good color fastness in Aardenburg testing.  I'm still partial to matte papers and this along with Hahnemuhle Bamboo are my go tos.

[Mark D Segal]

Wayne and Alan,

What threw me off-base was the phrase "If it can be printed in a matte finish...". I mistook "it" to mean the paper rather than the photo. Simple as that, and sorry for the misunderstanding. At the same time I was saying to myself that surely Alan knows this is matte paper, so what is really in mind here. I now get it. Just got back from two weeks in Europe so the neurons are probably just catching-up. :-)

Alan, I'm interested in your comment on Hahn Bamboo. As you will have surmised from my review, I also like that paper. It seems to have a nice kind of "glow" to it that is unusual for the matte paper family, even though its gamut and maximum Black aren't much different from those of some other high-performing matte offerings. Maybe it's the inherent warmth. Of course it works better for some photos than others. But yes, +1 for Hahn Bamboo. That said, if you haven't done so, I suggest you try Canon's new Premium Fine Art Smooth. I haven't tried it for book-binding so I can't opine on that aspect, but I expect just as a printing paper you'd like it very much. I've tested and reviewed it in my Canon Pro-2000 article.

[Alan Goldhammer]

That said, if you haven't done so, I suggest you try Canon's new Premium Fine Art Smooth. I haven't tried it for book-binding so I can't opine on that aspect, but I expect just as a printing paper you'd like it very much. I've tested and reviewed it in my Canon Pro-2000 article.

I'll take a look at it.  I've also done a lot of printing on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth and have worked with Mark at Aardenburg to do a lot of testing particularly with the Epson 3880 ABW print settings.  I haven't done any book stuff but am intrigued.