How to Bind Loose Pages Together: A Simple Method

This video demonstrates a very simple way of binding loose pages together. It is intended for people who have texts that they want to bind together, but who are looking for a better method than simply stapling, paper clips, or ring binding. The video is suitable for non-bookbinders and only
requires minimal materials and PVA glue.
If you are looking for how to bind loose pages into a hardcover book, I demonstrate that in this video:
• How to Bind a Perfect-...

[@jessquinn6106]

I have been using this method for about 10 years now. The one thing I learned is after I clip the pages together, is to score/file the edge that you plan to glue, with and emery board/nail file or even a file. Doing this gives grip and strength to the pages to the glue and helps prevent pages falling out of the glue

[@SJ-dl6uc]

underrated tip. needs to get 1000s of likes. this is so important in perfect binding.

[@ArnaudMEURET]

Help me understand this better, you’re telling to roughen up the edge to bind by sanding it perpendicular to the page plane, correct ?

[@SJ-dl6uc]

@@ArnaudMEURET yes, by roughening it up, you create more surface area and friction for the glue to stick. and you can saw grooves perpendicular to the spine or slanted towards the spine, after one round of glue is dry. then you can put a cord in the perpendicular/slanted groove, and glue that on top, w an extra round of glue (i usually do 3-4 total glue sessions depending on how thick my text block is). the concept here is create a cross hatch for the joint so it won't pop off. that means using a support material like cloth/rope/cord/wood/backing etc, perpendicular to where there's the break. same goes for reinforcing paper and cardboard. i use the grocery paper bags as disposable trash cans for my art. they bend tho, so i cut the top off and glue the extra vertically on the sides. that gives it structure.

[@GoInfluenceyourself]

Even better than that is to cut small grooves in the clamped spine with a very thin blade like for coping or a small dovetail saw. Cut grooves about every inch or two, apply glue and then lay upholsters thread in those grooves and let it hang down over each side by 2” or in this case you could just trim it the same length as her red strip so it doesn’t stick out.

[@jessquinn6106]

@@GoInfluenceyourself Cool idea. Yes that would work too.

[@cannedpineapple2702]

The notebook companies don't have control over us anymore!!! I'M GOING TO MAKE SO MANY NOTEBOOKS NOW!

[@cozycasasmr4510]

😂😂

[@Ematched]

Seriously! I have a bunch of loose Tomoé River, and I’m definitely doing this.

[@JimmieHammel]

I love this comment more than anything

[@avinamerkur1484]

but what if its an evil ploy of the clue companies?

[@leandrotami]

why do I find comfort watching this even though I have no immediate need for it? there must be something about working with paper that is nice...

[@useless_name]

Maybe it's ASMR?

[@AwosAtis]

Wow! I just printed a 200 page (two sided) sewing machine manual. Now I know what my next project is. Thank you!

[@UD503J]

I used to work in a copy shop years ago, and I remember having access to a tape binding machine. It was basically this style of binding, but with a pre-impregnated strip that was thermally activated (so a hot glue gun style adhesive) rather than PVA. I used to download public domain books from Project Gutenberg and make half page books out of them (I'm in the US, so basically 5.5 x 8.5 inch pages). It was a really cool way to DIY a novel before ebook readers became more common. I also used chip board and one of my favorite paper stocks to make pocket notebooks (like a Field Notes, but not saddle stitched.) It was a cool way to use paper trimmed from larger stock that was otherwise too small to print on.

[@Qermaq]

In my young years I worked in a factory where they laminated paper to cardboard. I operated a guillotine knife cutter, and often due to the size of a job we'd have some big offcut that we knew couldn't be used for any upcoming jobs. Putting the paper on the shelf meant it'd dry up and be useless. So I'd chop them down to a nice size, cut some .032" cardboard to match, and use the glue from the machines and a technique much like this to make note pads for the employees to take home and use. You can tear the pages out if you want, but this method is surprisingly effective at keeping that hard to do.

[@stargirl7646]

Oh what a lovely idea! I might have to try that with a few of my favorite books

[@besthobbit]

Hahaha I did similar. Sometimes I miss working in a print shop. ☺

[@inspireira]

My grandfather was a journalist and we always had endless stocks of paper around the house, some of the documents or empty journals being binded just like that. I had no clue that they were HAND binded! It makes so much sense, since he loved to DIY everything. Oh, it makes me so nostalgic. Thank you for tutorial 🤍

[@stefanie006]

Thank you so much for demonstrating this type of binding!! I'm a full-time graduate student, and I am constantly printing and filing my research papers. Now, I can make my favorites into beautiful books. Also, I greatly appreciate how you've kept the materials simple and affordable!🌟

[@jeanduncan111]

My 12 year old grandson wrote his autobiography. It is 20 pages (plus some additions)and we were trying to figure out how to bind it! This is so perfect and your instructions are wonderful. They are clear and simple. Thank you!

[@rossleavitt8875]

That is so lovely. I’m kind of interested as to what made it into his auto at 12!

[@ashleydavis3318]

That's awesome! I wish I had saved my writings from when I was twelve.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

surprised he had 20 pages

[@labibbidabibbadum]

I love this. There must have been, oh, 25,000 moments over the past couple of decades when my limited intellect prevented me from thinking of this myself but it would have been perfect. Thank you. Beautifully presented.

[@grahamlyttle]

I did this with a printed out ROM Dump of a BBC Microcomputer over 30 years ago and I still have it to this day.

[@ovalwingnut]

Very COoL. You win the super geek award hands down. I'm N-V-US. Cheers GrahaM

[@labibbidabibbadum]

Nobody needs to know about your toilet antics here sir!

[@jttasb]

...but have you written an emulator of it yet? So that, you know, more people can avail themselves to the ol' microcomputer's capabilities?

[@stevepoling]

Ah yes. But I used huge bull clips, wish I'd known this technique then. Those were the days. They promised us the "paperless office" and we ended up killing forests-worth of trees to capture our zillion-page printouts!

[@thiccvicx]

I learned this trick doing an internship in a book binding shop. Thanks for mentioning grain, I had forgotten about its significance in this case.

[@LungsMcGee]

I love this. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to printing and binding. My career has nothing to with this, aside from doing battle with office printers to get a few sheets out of them. Thank you for sharing this.

[@debbieparise9433]

A Manila file folder could substitute for the card stock and strip of tape. Folders are usually scored along the fold edge to get more width. Fold as will be needed for the depth of the stack of loose papers. Glue the loose papers as shown here but without the card stock covers. Add glue to the inside of the folder down in the crease, add the glued loose papers and clamp.

[@DaleDix]

You've missed the whole point of the channel

[@Romanticoutlaw]

as someone who has never been able to will myself to write/draw in a non-ring journal for fear of ruining/wasting it but have been able to use ones that other people handmade for me, this is invaluable

[@angelacross2216]

Thank you.

[@nikkireigns]

Great video! My grandma recently passed and I’d like to combine her full page recipes. I’ll have to do some practicing first!

[@matildarei]

Condolences to you and your family. What a sweet way to remember her, with a book of her recipes. 💕

[@user-br3qj1jm5o]

My IPad is full and I mean FULL of copied pictures and notes from tutorials. It takes me so long to find articles I need, but now I can print them all out and bind and name and file them.. Thank you for saving my sanity….Lynne.

[@robertphillips93]

Having bound thousands of books as double fan adhesive binds (most with specialised equipment, but many by hand), I can say this is a thorough and skilled presentation. The importance of grain direction is perhaps understated, since cross-grained papers often produce a waviness along the gutter margin that is unsightly and degrades openability. Same goes for coated (slick magazine) papers. Probably best to leave other attachments near the spine, like staples, out -- as they will interfere with consistent fanning and produce unbalanced stresses after binding. Also, if you're not too steady with the glue brush and want a more stable target than that springy spine, you can roll the clamped stack of pages around a length of thick dowel -- as long as the clamps are far enough away from the spine. Also, for a somewhat sturdier construction or with very heavy paper stocks, the reinforcing spine strip can be augmented by adding a thin layer (paper or cloth) covering the width of the spine only. Simplest way to do this precisely is by including several waste sheets on both sides of the initial fan bind. After drying, the spine can be reglued and a generous strip of paper or cloth attached. After drying, a sharp knife is inserted on top of the last waste sheet before the cover stock. Holding the blade very flat against the book at a mid-angle to the spine cut all the outer waste sheets, glue, and excess reinforcement away -- without any scalloping cuts into the cover stock. After both sides are trimmed this way the remaining sheet of waste paper can be peeled away from each side. Should be very straight and clean, with only a bit of skinning at the edge. Add final colored strip to back and sides. (Unless this is considered a very temporary binding, it's best to avoid tapes and stick to glues here.)

[@chocksaway100]

That method of binding is surprisingly satisfying.

[@TasareAlda]

This was brilliant. Thank you. I'm a collector of hobbies and crafting and some of my pass times result in tons of loose-leaf material. I get very sad when I lose pages, ripped off of staples or lost out of bundles, but I have never found a satisfactory way to store neatly. Never occurred to me that I could do a simple binding on them. Truly thank you

[@gr8fng]

The tip of double fanning pages is really helpful thank you ❤

[@lordelcorion]

My friends and I recently got into a game that has all its rules online in pdf format, and I was looking for a way to bind them together when I printed them out. This looks like a great solution in terms of cost, time, and simplicity. I don't expect the rulebook to be very big, but if it was, I'd imagine a stitching method might be better in that case. This simple method also seems like it'd work nicely for some other projects I've had in mind.

[@chetneetchouhan]

asking out of curiousity, whats name of game?

[@MiScusi69]

What game is it?

[@b7979]

@@chetneetchouhan u nosy af😭

[@HikariXD]

late to the party, but isn't the game you're referring to "keep talking and nobody explodes?"

[@BennyPino]

Same I'm here because of printing out PDFs that are 20-30 pages for my players of pathfinder roleplaying game using a Canon PIXMA G620 inkwell. Printing on card stock. Fun to spoil your players sometimes. Great video!

[@NicoSmets]

Double-fan. Mind blown. I can't unsee this technique now once I have witnessed it. Thank you for sharing.

[@jennytaylor3324]

This is Utube gold, in my opinion. Many thanks!

[@CetMM]

your video is still sueful 2.5 years later. gonna check out more. thanks.

[@juliajules9407]

I absolutely love your video. I hope you come back. I spent at least a year in South Africa and the charming lilt of the SA accent is not lost on me. Have a beautiful holiday !season and I’ll try your tricks for binding 17 Holiday booklets for my seniors’ communities where i sing. Take care, Susan.

[@AnnesiBindings]

Thanks very much!

[@cheriegullerud281]

What a wonderful find! I usually put all my music in 3 ring binders or pay to have plastic comb binding. This is so lovely and clean! Thank you for sharing.

[@smileawhile3788]

This was exactly what I needed! Clear, simple, easy to follow instructions with no silly fluff, only useful information. Many thanks for your video! 🙏💞

[@stephaniethesoprano]

this is exactly what I needed! I have an opera score that is currently living in a binder, which is clunky and difficult to maneuver in rehearsal, and the first loose page binding tutorial I tried was effective, but a bit more time consuming, not as polished as I'd like it to be, and more difficult than this method seems. I will be giving this a go tonight!

[@lordmikethegreat]

This is amazing! I never knew you coild basically bind your own book like a real publisher! Thank you!

[@mikebowers7161]

That was so helpful. I always used comb binders but was never happy with the look. This way adds character to filed documents. Thank you very much!

[@beth12svist]

Thank you very much, this is the perfect way to deal with all the loose pages from my studies, too.

[@plunder1956]

A useful method. I spent over a decade doing artwork, so I will try it. Thanks.

[@kylawiebe]

Very helpful. I have a collection of letters that a friend wrote to me that I will bind in this way. Thanks for the tip!

[@vyk_15]

Thank you for making this video, it’s a very helpful resource. ❤

[@jamesmclean5790]

Excellent demonstration. I have been buying coil binding for years. This looks more economical.

[@marilynmccormick3731]

Thank you. This is very helpful to know. Your instruction was very clear. You were thorough too.

[@AnnesiBindings]

You're welcome. Thanks for your kind words.

[@saltyroe3179]

When I took print shop in the 1960s we were taught to "pad" paper. Special clamps were used to hold the paper. Glue was painted on the spine. If the pad was made for tear off the glue was left to dry. More permanent attachment of papers were accomplished by applying backing cloth to the spine. When the paper paper came off the clamp glue was applied and backing cloth bent around the faces

[@user-xe4bk8zs8y]

YOU should have made a video! There is actual valuable info. here..the one we just watched was elementary and pretty much a waste of time. Appreciate your info re cloth on the spine. Thanx.

[@BOLDYOJI]

was thinking of dipping my pages in glue so came to yt for some clairty & found your brilliant vid...quick,straight to point & an easy to do fix..thank you!

[@regallineage6091]

THIS was exactly what I was looking for in all the binding videos here on KZbin. THANK YOU!

[@chrisbassett8996]

Thank you so much for sharing I have been writing my story for my children and was wondering how I was going to bind it, This is perfect. Thanks again.

[@obiwanfisher537]

Not sure how I ended up here, but this is the sort of thing the girls in my class would spend their afternoons on, while I was still fishing out 8 crumbled of total 12 pages from my backpack and call it a successful number.

[@aussiewattle4299]

Excellent. A good clear description. Just what I need to fix my art folder.

[@AnnesiBindings]

Glad it was helpful!

[@davidboucher6450]

Your voice is very soothing and your explanations are very helpful. Thank you!

[@BiltmoreGhost]

Oh, I like this! When you were listing off the options at the beginning of the video, ai THOUGHT you were going to go down the rabbit hole of using a sewing machine to bind the pages together, But I LOVE THIS OPTION! THANK YOU!!!

[@stephenkasperick-postellon8356]

Love that the article you’re binding is about Gregory of Nyssa, Macrina from Annesi Bindings! I see what you did there.

[@k8marlowe]

This is so going to make my office /studio more organized and tidy. What a helpful tip. Thank you so much for sharing it!

[@2Bstrifeless]

You're a great teacher. This will help make better use of my stack of reclaimed single side paper.

[@weekiwacheepaperco8334]

Your videos are fantastic. So precise and fact based. I am so excited to start binding my artwork into little books. Thanks for sharing your process!

[@whynothanks2047]

Thank you so much for making this video! I was looking for a way to bind regular copy paper, as opposed to the thicker pages typically used in single-sheet binding tutorials. This is the perfect solution for me, can’t thank you enough!

[@missmerrily4830]

So happy to have stumbled across this video as this looks like a great economical and simple way to bind sheets together. I always have great difficulty with my comb binder in remembering exactly how to do it and waste a great deal of time working out the correct method. But this is so simple, it'd be impossible to forget. I'm going to give it a try right away! Thank you!

[@desiadams22]

I have both enjoyed and found this video very helpful.Thank you

[@johnswimcat]

Brilliant! Exactly what I was looking for. Very well explained and demonstrated. Thank you

[@millieg1526]

So simple, love it!!! Thank you!

[@deborah5221]

I love this! I could even decorate the binding or label it. Thank you.

[@Russty501]

Just what I wanted! I was thinking about doing a project that required a lot of printing and personal book making, and I wanted a way to do that without it looking rushed/bad/hacked together. Thank you for the video!

[@nicolaspeters2555]

Thank you for sharing this. I have a music keyboard manual which I downloaded off the internet, so binding it in this way will be my next job.

[@gillianbennett4518]

thanks, great clarity in the tutorial and very easy to follow. really appreciate your time and materials in this demonstration.

[@philopolymath]

True and a BIG improvement over coffee and peanut butter.

[@tomburnett7038]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Very helpful with a British accent, wot?!😊

[@DavidPar_2024]

Thank for sharing your experience.

[@katherinecrosby2336]

Awesome. I never knew what double fan binding referred to. This will be very useful - thanks

[@silviacuppari8174]

Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for!! It’s a very simple method indeed!! I loved it! 👏👏👏

[@lindagagliardo7948]

Great clearly explained video. I’m new to bookbinding and found this extremely helpful

[@shangri-laj9578]

I love the method! I have tons of knitting and sewing materials I need to bind rather than bulky three ring binders.

[@vwood2]

Fantastic solution! Thank you very much. I just discovered your channel, and your tutorials are excellent. Everything is so well demonstrated, and helpful. Yhank you for sharing your expertise with us. 🙏

[@annettedoodles]

This is exxactly what I needed. thank you so much! it was also very relaxing to watch

[@localforestdeity]

Thank you for this video! I've been planning on making a book of all my d&d notes so this will be very fun to try out with those :)

[@rightner305]

i have some stories id love to bind but as a beginner this seems like such a smart solution! thank you!

[@judyhammond3181]

Wow, thank you for this clear instruction. I just stumbled on your instruction’s while viewing art videos. I have a set of instructions that I will try this on.

[@chiforbrains]

Thank you love how detailed your video was 🙂

[@islandgirl8604]

Thanks so much. This is great for my homeschooling worksheets.

[@davidmontero9719]

Your voice is so peaceful!

[@Someowne]

thank god,i needed this so badly for a little project we are doing for a subject at school! tysm for this helpful tutorial

[@tubejim101]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@user-oo9tn7kb5r]

Love this! Simple but to the point and covers task from start to finish! Huge value for my time and effectiveness to complete an art journal as a birthday present, in record time! Thank you so, so much!

[@wildtime001]

Thank you for teaching me this book-binding method. I've been looking for an alternative to report covers and binders for smaller documents and ran across this video. It is perfect for my needs, although I am still in the practice stage and am still honing my technique.

[@jamestregler1584]

Thanks for the book binding 101 class, from old New Orleans 😇

[@1011Astrid]

👍 Thank you so much for this video! What a simple and easy instruction! ♥

[@alekseiismirnov]

Thank you for the sharing. Very simple and neat.

[@lauraarzola]

This is wonderful. I wish I'd known this my whole life. I would have really used it often.

[@kathrynnewton8721]

I was straining to see the title of your article! Thank you very informative

[@meomapxautinh]

This was exactly what I needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🙏🙏

[@asotpan]

HI, on the last day of 1999 I decided to journalize the new millennium. I found a pre-WW1 book which showed how to bind books with the traditional stitching method. I needed to create a daily record of my life and times for posterity so that my journals need to be robust to stand the test of time. I use hardboard for the covers, plaited Irish linen saddlers thread for the stitching and 140gm archival cartridge paper for the leaves. Each journal has 11 x 6 registers of folded A4 to A5 which gives me roughly a years worth of recording on a daily basis. I find that the cartridge paper takes watercolour and pen and ink sketching quite well. I have 19 volumes to date. I do a lot of design sketching on random bits of paper that tend to get thrown into a folder so your tutorial is really great and will held me keep them together. In South Africa we need to be resourceful as a lot of custom book binding is hard to come by.

[@GiasuddinKhan311]

oh this is perfect! ive been looking for something simple, fast, and easy to follow! this literally helped me out so much and only gave out the basic information you need to do it- thank you soo much you saved my skin by a lot!

[@MarkLawry]

Thanks. I used this to bind some family memoirs. It came out great.

[@lynneparker4136]

Loved this, thank you so much.

[@worldnotworld]

Father Behr would be pleased as punch -- you should send him a bound copy of this fine essay!

[@josuemoreno_]

Amazing! You changed my life! thank you!

[@pamelaread8501]

Thankyou I am looking for a way to bind the teacher’s cards together with notes and pictures from the children and this is perfect. 🙏🏻

[@JoeOGosePresents]

This is great and will save me alot of time and money. Thanks!

[@rokitrik6783]

Thank you for giving us MORE!

[@AnnesiBindings]

You're welcome - hope it was helpful!

[@stephanieh.777]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@deborahbrookshier7712]

Clever! I appreciate the information.

[@leannakakitani9086]

Thank you so much my articles have been going all over my home! 😢 But now this simple hack saved my life THANK YOU😊❤

[@atanumondal7828]

I've been looking for this for a long time. Thanks a ton.

[@AnnesiBindings]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful.

[@SharitCreations]

Thank you for this video. I have some pages I printed this is exactly the video I need.

[@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit]

I'm just waiting for a few more leafs to come loose in some of the older comic books I've inherited from my grandpa, and to get my plough, to finally try this method. Even though this is quite simple and effective, I'm super scared of ruining the few things I have from him.

[@AnnesiBindings]

Were they perfect bound (or loose leaves) to start with? Personally, I'd be hesitant to use this method for something that is already in signatures, especially something personally valuable. But I may be misunderstanding you.

[@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit]

​@@AnnesiBindings the only ones with loose leaves are perfect bound. All my comics bound in signatures (staple bound) are all perfectly fine. I have a few hundred comics in both bindings, perfect and staple bound, but I've inherited only a handful of them, and some of the perfect bound ones I bought also have many loose leaves, so I'll probably try it in some of them before trying in my grandpa's comics, since they don't have as much emotional value.

[@AnnesiBindings]

@@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit Oh, okay, now I understand! That sounds like a good idea.

[@nicolerosen7957]

Just what I needed!

[@paulgarner3541]

Simple and oh so useful. Brilliant, thank you, I’ll start using this method today!

[@lydialangfordjoiner765]

Thank you! It’s something I needed to know!