What makes our books so special?

As a book artist, I made the decision to use only the best quality materials I could get my hands on for these books. Every single book has 160 pages of a superb acid-free text weight paper, top quality binder's board, archival-grade permanent adhesive, and tough 3-ply Irish linen thread. The decorative papers I use to cover the boards are also acid-free.

There are a lot of technical details about how to put a book together in a way that will make it more durable. In short, since most paper products are made up of fibers that line up in one direction (this is called the "grain"), how one handles folding and cutting the papers will affect the longevity of the book. The binder's board, cover paper, and text paper all have grain directions, and you want the grain on all of them to match.

Think of it this way: if you fold the text paper against the grain, it will break some of the fibers and decrease the life of that book. Also, if you adhere a decorative paper in the opposite grain direction of the binder's board, the two will be inclined to come apart.

Every time I craft a book, I make sure that the grain direction is consistent and determined by the way the book is supposed to fold, even if it means getting less use out of each material purchase.

Japanese Papers Coming Soon

American Book Arts has plans to offer limited edition coptic journals covered with specialty Japanese papers, both Chiyogami, also referred to as Yuzen, and Katazome-shi, also referred to as Wazome, which are exceptionally beautiful and durable papers particularly suited to bookbinding.

What's the difference between Chiyogami and Katazome-shi? Chiyogami is screenprinted on a base paper made of kozo and sulphite. Every color is a layer silkscreened onto the paper, and in most cases these papers have at four or five colors. Katazome-shi, based on traditional kimono printing, is stencilled onto a kozo base paper by hand, a time consuming process that produces intense colors and stunning patterns.

You can read up these gorgeous papers and browse them online at the Japanese Paper Place. If you find something you want that ABA does not have in stock, we take custom orders contingent upon paper availability. Just contact me at claire@americanbookarts.com with the paper number (located under the sample image, ex. "732C"), desired number of books, and your contact information. There is a minimum order of three books, $35 each, but you can mix and match papers to your heart's content--up to one kind of paper per book.

What is a coptic journal?

A coptic journal is a blank book bound by a coptic stitch, a binding technique that dates to the 2nd century AD. Traditionally, these books were made with wooden covers. ABA uses Davey Red Label Binder's Board, which sets the standard for fine binding, and covers it with durable decorative papers using conservation-grade adhesive. Then we take one long piece waxed thread and sew the book together. For more information concerning the history of coptic binding, visit this wiki.

The most unique feature of a coptic journal is that it can be opened completely flat without damaging the spine, which eliminates the need to fight with a book that wants to close when you need it to stay open. Ring-bound solutions will lie flat, but use tends to deform the rings so that such bindings become difficult to handle. Our journals, stitched with the finest waxed Irish linen thread, are flexible, durable, and will not deform over time.