Tutorial: Exposed Tape Binding

[mollybrooks]

a few people expressed an interest in getting a photo-tutorial for the binding technique i used on this project, so i thought i’d give it a shot!

(thumbnail above links to the tutorial at my website)

the technique is an open-spine tape binding with each tape mounted into both boards. i learned it at school in honest-to-god bookbinding 101, and it's my favorite. it's a bit more labor-intensive than coptic, but not much more difficult, and quite a bit sturdier. it's less likely to fray with heavy use, but it still gives you the flexibility at the spine that you get with coptic and other exposed spine bindings, so it will lie flat and close around a pen and double over itself like a legal pad and pretty much put up with all the abuse a coptic will, with even less risk of falling apart.

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i didn't invent any of the techniques pictured here, and i'm certainly no bookbinding expert or teacher, but i hope i've managed to describe the process in a way that makes sense to someone who hasn't encountered it before. it's the first time i've ever attempted a tutorial, so i'd appreciate feedback on its quality!