How I made my book⑥ Bookbinding

“After printing, it's not scary anymore. There won't be fatal mistakes. You can relax now”, said Nakagawa-san.

I arrived at Neutral Colors at 10 am to fold 252 pages.

When I just began to fold the papers, Katoh-san asked, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes! Everything's good!” Then, he walked back to the editing room on the opposite side of the wall.

A few minutes later, Katoh-san appeared again, “Are you folding with your hands? There's a folding machine...”

“Um... Nakagawa-san told me to fold like this...” Katoh-san disappeared behind the wall again. (The fingertip of my thumb began to hurt... I still have around 210 pages.)

Later, Katoh-san searched for something on the risograph printer next to me, “You can use this” and handed a flat stick to me. 

“Thank you!” 

Waaa. What's this? This can fold so well, such a magical stick! (It is called a bone folder.)

Later on, I learned that the way we printed, every sheet of paper had a different misalignment, so it was better to fold by hand.

A mundane task. I put my earphones on and listened to a podcast about rice fermentation. The printed images triggered a wave of emotions. I could no longer absorb information, so I took my earphones out, folded quietly, and faced my feelings directly. No matter how incapable I am, these experiences and their words have supported me this far. I don't know why I couldn't hold back my tears. I didn't want Katoh-san, on the other side of the wall, to notice. I secretly went to the bathroom to calm down. Then, I felt down along with the never-ending paper-folding task. (I was probably hungry...)

I finished at 4 pm, nonstop from 10 am. 

One A3 page consists of 8 pages, and two of them make a 16-page section.

 In total, the book consists of fourteen 16-page sections.

I brought one copy back home. Hm.. the colours seemed a little blend, and the paper is too white...

Then, I headed to Terry Riley's composition workshop in Kokubunji, Tokyo. The next day, when I checked the first section, the page numbers didn't match. The risograph printing direction was wrong for the first page.  

Saturday 10 am 

First, we printed the first page with wrong orientation with laser printing. 

The pages were cut manually first with a cutter knife along the bleeds. Then, we used the cutting machine. 

It is easy to cause misalignment when cutting too many paper all at once, so 2~3 sections were placed inside the cutting machine. Then, set the book's length, and make sure everything is aligned with a wooden block. Then, turn the handle until tightened, and press the button with both hands. Repeat the same for the width of the book. 

Yesterday, I thought the colours of the book were too light. When the white edges are cut, it produced a different atmosphere. 

Bookbinding!  

Poking holes. It was quite fun. Four per section, 64 holes for one copy.

Stick the cover onto the first page.

 This book is already relatively thick, so a thinner thread is used.
Although thick ones are harder to break. 

For one copy, two 130cm threads are needed.
Put wax on it to avoid tangles, although it still tangles. 

While sewing the book, it's better to press the pages strongly and tighten the thread constantly. Use a weight to prevent pages from misalignment. 

My first book!!! (I had to take all the thread out and rebind since it was too loose…)

A presser was used for the second book. 

Next Chapter: Delivering the Books!