I finally noticed the difference between using a standard press and a finishing press on my book spines

I finally noticed the difference between using a standard press and a finishing press on my book spines. For about two years I was just using the same old book press for everything, including gluing up spines and casing in. I thought a finishing press was some fancy tool that only the old-timey guys used. Then I borrowed one from a buddy at a bindery workshop in Cincinnati last spring. The difference was night and day. My spines came out way more crisp and the joints didn't have that weird puffiness I kept fighting. It's honestly the glue-up stage that changed the most, because the finishing press holds the book just tight enough without squishing the signatures. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in quality after swapping their gear, or am I just easily impressed?

4 comments

4 Comments

beth2768d ago

That line you dropped about the joints having "weird puffiness" really hit home. I've been fighting that exact same thing on a bunch of my projects lately and I've been blaming the glue mix or the weather. So you're telling me a finishing press actually stops that puffiness from happening in the first place? Like it's not just a fancy clamp, it actually changes how the spine lays down? Because I've got a pile of books with that same puffy joint issue and I've been going crazy trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I've been using a standard press with some felt padding to try to even out the pressure but it sounds like that's the whole problem.

blairc908d ago

Man, doesn't it mess with your head when you realize how much easier something could have been the whole time? I had that same sinking feeling after I finally tried a backing hammer, just kicking myself for all the sloppy rounds I'd been putting out. It's wild how the right tool just makes things click into place without you having to fight it so much.

claire_young7610d ago

Traded two years of puffy spines for one borrowed press, now I'm convinced my books are secretly judging my old tools.

phoenix5739d ago

Wait, are you saying the press actually made your books cleaner or just made you notice how bad the old stuff looked? I used to think binding tools were binding tools, like who cares if they're a little rough. But I borrowed my buddy's press last spring and yeah, my old gear suddenly looked like it belonged in a garbage can. Those books are definitely giving you the side-eye, they know they got the upgrade treatment.