Unpopular opinion: double-fan adhesive binding is overhyped for small runs

I see folks on here pushing it for 10-copy editions, but the setup time alone takes 3 hours for something a simple sewn boards binding could do in 45 minutes. Last week I did a 5-book batch with proper sewing and the spines held up way better than any glued job I've seen. Has anyone else dumped the fan for quicker methods?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia_carter18d ago

Totally agree. Ran into the same thing with a short run of poetry zines last month. Double fan took forever to set up and the glue was messy, but a simple stab binding gave me better results in half the time and the pages lay just as flat. People act like fan binding is the only way to get a strong spine but a well done sewing is way more reliable, especially for small batches.

stella90418d ago

Actually glue isn't always messy if you use the right kind - PVA is way easier to work with than rubber cement for fan binding. But yeah, stab binding is definitely underrated for small batches, it's such a clean finish. Just a heads up though, sewing can still leave some pages not laying totally flat depending on how tight you pull the thread.