Fiber or RC for book-binding?

[horacekenneth]

I'm planning on making an accordion book and wondering which style paper will be more durable to be folded and unfolded in a book.

 

[Ron789]

You plan to fold the prints? I do it differently: 1 page = 1 print, then I tape them together. So it's the tape that folds, not the print. Works well for me.

 

[horacekenneth]

Interesting, that sounds like a working plan. All the accordion books I've seen didn't use tape but used glue on the edges of a little 1/4" folded flap. I was thinking two pages to 1 print but either way (1-1 or 2-1) the question of binding them with glue and folds could still apply

 

[Ron789]

The accordion books (aka Leporello) I'm familiar with have all the pages connecting side-by-side to each other, so you can see them as a long sequence or fold them and go trough the book page by page. Like the photo below. All pages are connected with tape on the back, no glueing. The advantage I see in tape (the very thin Scotch tape) is that you can easily cut it and re-tape it if you want to change a sequence or combination.
Can you please help me understand how your binding works?

 

[horacekenneth]

That looks nice, is that yours? If so could you send me some close ups of how the tapes page edges look?

Here is the guide I am following and it also matches the accordion book I own
http://www.designsponge.com/2013/03/bookbinding-101-accordion-book.html

 

[Ron789]

Not sure if this will show much but let's try:
These are 2 pages that will fold back-to-back. You put the 2 pages side by side and then put tape over the fold, easy:

These are 2 pages that will fold front-to-front. The tape needs to go around the edges so you need some space between the pages. I take one page and stick the tape to the back, half-way to the width of the tape. Then turn the page around, put the second page on top of it (face-to-face) and fold the tape around the edge and stick it to the back of the top page.

This is the connection between the cover and the first page; more or less the same method as above:

For me flexibility is more important than ultimate precision since I use this to make a dummy for a book. It's a working document, not a final result.
I hope this may be of some use to you!

 

[horacekenneth]

Thanks! Yes, making a working copy makes sense and this seems like a good way to do it. Thanks for the pictures and the explanations.
Ultimately I'd like to make permanent accordion books though I'm wondering how photo paper will hold up to the application.

 

[Ron789]

For permanent books I don't know whether Scotch tape would be the right choice. For permanent applications it's important you use an acid-free material. For anything more permanent I use acid-free hypoallergene bandaid material. I've used this on photo's I framed 30 years ago and those are still in perfect condition. And when they fail, i.e. lose their adhesion, you can easily strip them off and replace them with new, without damaging the photo.
Making a photo book is good learning and a lot of fun and a great way to add a new dimension to your work and raise your quality level as a photographer.
Go for it!

 

[adelorenzo]

I always use RC paper for books, mainly because there is no way fiber paper would stay flat enough. Also fiber paper is really stiff, too stiff IMHO for the pages of a book.

 

[AgX]

For a leporello design PC paper seems more appropriate. Just make a groove with a tiny, well-rounded tip at the folding line.
If you you do not use paper from a roll, the fiber orientation is to be considered too.

Best to make groves at small pieces of both, fiber and RC paper and test the folding for the side-wise orientation of that groove and on longevity.

 

[pdeeh]

or use bookbinding repair tape, something like Filmoplast

 

[darkroommike]

For permanent books I don't know whether Scotch tape would be the right choice. For permanent applications it's important you use an acid-free material. For anything more permanent I use acid-free hypoallergene bandaid material. I've used this on photo's I framed 30 years ago and those are still in perfect condition. And when they fail, i.e. lose their adhesion, you can easily strip them off and replace them with new, without damaging the photo.
Making a photo book is good learning and a lot of fun and a great way to add a new dimension to your work and raise your quality level as a photographer.
Go for it!

I don't know what happened to my earlier reply but 3M does make an acid free Scotch tape for photos and scrapbooking. That's it's intended use. Bandaid materials are intended for contact with human skin and have no known and tested archival qualities since no one plans on leaving a bandaid on for 100 years. Back in the day lightweight fiber papers (Kodak A surface) were the preferred material for prints intended for bookbinding. Without a drymount press to flatten prints an RC print is probably the best option still available.

 

[AgX]

A lightweight paper (still available) intended for book-block binding is not not necessarily the best choice for a leporello.
There are indeed leporellos from thin paper as patent-folded maps, but there the thickness of the block is more important than sturdiness, they are consumables.
On the other hand is the thickness of the fold dependent on the thickness of the paper and there easily will be be an upper limit.

 

[removed account4]

i've never made an accordion book like that, as long as the pages aren't going to be bent, i am guessing you will be OK using RC paper. ive made traditional stab/japanese and closed spine bound books
with fiber paper mostly. only once or 2x i used rc. when i made some of the books the photographs were printed large with a gutter on the left side which was folded and sewn or left unfolded
and drilled and sewn the paper was flexible enough to work OK as a hinge as needed. i also "tipped" the images onto rag paper using wheat paste. i've tipped rc prints but never had to have them
be pages before. if the rc prints HAVE to be folded they might fold better if you scored the emulsion with a blade. i've never really done that so i can't speak from experience.

 

[tedr1]

I'm planning on making an accordion book and wondering which style paper will be more durable to be folded and unfolded in a book.

Papers vary, it is probably best to make tests, this needn't be complicated. Obtain a sheet of RC and a sheet of FB and crease them. Work the fold 180 degrees until the crease begins to fall apart, count the number of folds for each paper.

Scotch translucent "magic tape" is great stuff but has a relatively short life when used for a hinge, it is suitable for a dummy but not for the final project.

RC paper probably needs a synthetic glue such as found on ready made adhesive tapes. FB paper will accept the more old fashioned liquid glues that are applied by hand, for example PVA adhesive.

 

[horacekenneth]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to start with trying out a double weight matte fiber with a light score down the inward folding edge and pva adhesive. I'll plan on updating with how it goes.

 

[richyd]

Generally if you need to fold paper you need to pay attention to the grain direction of the paper. If you fold cross grain then you are not going to get a good crease. Maybe for an accordion book it won't matter too much if it is intended to be held open. To check the grain bend the paper and see which way bends easily and that is the long grain direction. I've never tried it with photographic paper.

 

[DWThomas]

Assuming the tape doesn't need to be transparent, Lineco makes an acid-free gummed linen tape about an inch wide for use in framing applications that would likely be a fairly sturdy hinge.

 

[removed account4]

you can make your own "tape" by taking a fixed out sheet of photo paper
and some wheat paste cut the paper into strips and paste the prints together with the strip.
you won't have to worry about bond strength ( which paper is strongest ) because it is the same material,
you can make small hinges that are at the top /bottom of each print, or a long one down the print.