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Shoutout to the binder who had to explain why you can't use glitter glue on vellum | Bookbinders - Vivisector

Shoutout to the binder who had to explain why you can't use glitter glue on vellum

So I was at a craft fair showing off some of my hand-bound journals, and this person comes up super excited. They had a family bible they wanted rebound, but they insisted on using bright glitter glue for the decorations! I was caught off guard, trying to be polite. One side of me thinks we should honor what the customer dreams up, since it's their book and they're paying. The other side screams that some materials just don't belong near certain papers, and glitter glue would ruin the vellum forever. It turned into this awkward standoff with them getting huffy and me fumbling for words. Now I'm curious, where does everyone stand? Do you ever say no to a project to protect the book, or do you always try to make it work?

4 comments

4 Comments

nelson.seth6mo ago

Handled a customer wanting to stick shiny tape on a fragile old book once. They were adamant, but that tape would peel and stain the pages forever. I pulled out some test scraps to show how adhesives eat into weak paper. Offered to use simple, safe inks that still look nice. They backed down after seeing the proof, and we used a better method. Standing your ground on materials is part of the job, or you end up with a ruined book.

derek_hill6mo ago

How many books get saved by proof like @nelson.seth showed?

oliver8556mo ago

Haha, I probably would've caved and used the tape, @nelson.seth, then cried over the ruined pages later!

quinnm776mo ago

Reminds me of a guy who tried to fix a cracked phone screen with super glue... it seeped into the display and turned the whole thing a cloudy yellow. He brought it to the diner to show us, totally bummed. Sometimes you just gotta let the pros handle it.