The Cinch Binding Tool and The Pomegranate Book

The Pomegranate Book is finally done!

I've had a Doozy of a week; struggling with a printer that is in a pout because I bought a new computer...and My Computer Guru is on vacation.  Hours of time have been spent on the internet in chat rooms, on the phone with HP and various cable adapter companies.  This is an issue All Of You are going to have to deal with when you get a new, souped up computer that is Windows 7 and 64 bit.  And only USB ports to hook equipment into.  I'll post later about the solutions I've found, but right now, I can't stand to think about it anymore.  I could have taken the money I've spent this week on Not Solutions out to the driveway and just set it on fire...would've been easier.

To regain my balance, I just Need To Make Something!

Thankfully, I printed off the Front and Back covers of the Pomegranate Book on my new Ricoh printer before I left Atlanta, so I was ready to jump right to it.  This is The Cinch - the bookbinding tool that I ordered back in May at the Surtex Surface Design Show.

This little guy is a real workhorse...punches right through chipboard and leather, and when you turn him around, he has a presser foot on the back to close up your metal binding rings.  There IS a learning curve, and it's best to watch the video on their website before you start punching away.

I'm using chipboard from our NY Betsy Bag stock - a handbag that we made several years ago, which used this chipboard in the bottoms.  That's why it has holes drilled in the four corners.

It is so important to remember that your pages for the inside must be smaller than the covers...and that when you punch your holes, that they line up with the holes you punched for the covers.

Once you get the hang of punching your holes in the exact right place, everything else just falls into place, and you are off and running.  I like to punch all my holes first, since I'm using my own, custom sized stock.  The last thing I need is to painstakingly glue up my covers and discover that the holes don't line up!

Here is my printed cover - I've already test-positioned my chipboard on the back side and held it up to the light to make sure I'm all lined up.  I made a crease to show me where the edge of the board is...

I need to trim it so that I have about 1" selvage on all four sides.  This is all made So Easy, using the magnetic ruler and mat that We R Memory Keepers offers:

You can buy the mat either at a craft supply store, or direct from We R Memory Keepers.

 Then, just use your favorite Craft Glue to glue the paper stock to your cover boards.  You can punch right through the glued-on cover - just be sure to position it the exact same way you originally did so you don't wind up with a new set of holes - that are now no longer lined up with the back board, like I did on my first try!

I like to make traditional corners and cover the edges of the board, so that the books look truly hand bound:

When you open the book, you get a pleasingly finished look...makes you want to keep opening and closing, just so your eyes can be happy.

 

Here is the Back of the Pomegranate Book.  Now I feel all better.  Think I'll go make some more!

How My Pomegranate Book Cost Me A Thousand Dollars

All Rightee Then.  When I finished writing about my zippy new Book Binding skills, I was heading into the "Pomegranate Book" at the end of that post.

The Pomegranate Book covers...before I looked closely.

That was before Arthritis hit with a vengeance, and I was out of action for days and days.  When I finally eased back into the studio again and picked up the ready-to-go Pomegranate Book covers and started to work with them, it became VERY apparent that the black toner didn't cover the paper evenly.  So I turned the paper around, re-printed...and then re-calibrated and re-printed...and so on and on.  I simply could not get a solid layer of black.  Period.

You probably don't know this, but ALL of the stationery, note-pads, catalogs, store signs, hang tags, and Shopping Bag labels for Lula Belle Tassels and Tideline Fabrics were printed on my trusty old HP4500 Color Laserjet printer, that is now about 12 years old.  Thousands and thousands of items printed by this old guy:

I bought this printer in 1999!  Still works pretty good, if you don't mind lots of cuddling and maintenance.  Which I don't.  We have become true-blue friends, and work equally hard in the studio.

He is so old that I have to search out spare parts from  Second Chance Industries on Ebay.  Great bunch of guys down there, who cheer me on for keeping him up and running. 

Considering his age, and the service he has given me, I decided while on the long drive back to Atlanta to quit pushing him so hard and start easing him into retirement.  (He doesn't know this yet.)  Like thoroughbred horses put out to pasture:

Image courtesy of American Farriers Journal

 
Quietly, I started the search for a new printer, and after days and days of shopping, trial runs, and a very knowledgeable technician at Printer Showcase, I realized that although the new laser printers are fast and efficient, they won't handle the heavy, textured cardstock I like to use - they don't lay down enough toner, and they don't "mash" the toner into the paper like my old guy.  The only one I found was the Xerox 6280:

That image looks great coming out of the printer, but it cost about 24 cents to print!!

Great quality, but far too expensive for production runs.  I tested OKI, Ricoh,  Kyocera, HP, and Xerox, and was interested to see the really different print quality coming out of each of them.  And was further intrigued by the incredible range of "set-up" properties offered for each print job.  Most offered 2 or more printing platforms, but the printer that had the widest range of possibilities within my budget was the Ricoh 430dn.  It won't print on textured cardstock, but does print everything else beautifully, for less than .05 cents per page.  So, One Thousand Dollars later, I have a new printer on the way.

All because I loved my Pomegranate Book Design too much to give up, and because I secretly love a pure black background for images.  Thanks to Scot over at Printer Showcase in Marietta for spending the better part of two afternoons working on my needs and running all my test prints to get Just the Right Printer to take the load off my old guy.  Who will still do my textured printing, only not black.

So now, while I wait for my new printer, I'm going to work on the next Fabric Design Contest at Spoonflower Printing!

  

Beach Cottage Bookbinding Studio

While we were waiting for Baby Blakely to arrive, I have been busy figuring out how to use all my new Bookbinding tools, and I think I finally have a good start on the process.  

The Beach Cottage studio is a mess, with Book Parts laying around everwhere:

These are some of the patterns I am going to make fabric out of...works for Books, too!

My first Book was okay, but not exactly even from front to back cover:

This Mango image is meant to be printed on Linen and framed under glass...time to get it done, now that I see it again.  It took me weeks and weeks to create this image - and I just forgot about it!

Living at the Beach, I'm partial to Coastal and underwater images...and my all-time favorites are images of Coral Branches and Sea Fans.  So I designed the following image over a year ago, and it was the first one I experimented with by having Spoonflower print it up for me:

Gluing up the Book Covers is agonizing.  Pure T.   But I am pleased with the finished look.

Once I finally got happy with the front and back Book Covers, I was off to the races, and started assembling:

Don't you think this would make beautiful fabric for a Lula Belle Handbag??  Or Wallpaper for a Beach Cottage accent wall??  Or how about Gift Wrap??  I started with the Coral image, then put it in repeat with other components to make the pages.  You can visit my post on making a Pattern Repeat to see how to do this.

The inside pages are lined and blank, meant for journaling or note jots:

And, here is the back cover:

All Done!

Next up, the Pomegranate Book - but that will be after I go see Baby Blakely again.

I think it's time to get the sewing machine cranked up and Sew "Stuff" to these Book Covers; and layer them up - what do you think?