Longer answers to the questions that come up before every job.
Full rebinding
What actually happens to the book
The book is pulled — taken apart section by section — and the old adhesive cleaned off the folds. Damaged folds are guarded with tissue. The sections are resewn by hand on linen tapes, the spine lined, new boards cut and laced or adhered depending on the structure, and the whole thing covered.
Cloth is the default. Quarter leather, with cloth or paste-paper sides, suits books that had it originally or that get heavy use at the joints. Full leather I take on rarely and quote separately.
Original spine labels are lifted and reapplied whenever they survive the process, which is roughly half the time. If a label will not come off intact I letter a new one and return the old.
Boxes
Clamshells and slipcases
A clamshell box is made around the individual book, so it needs the book here before I start. Board thickness follows the weight of what goes inside. Covered in cloth, lined with archival paper, and the spine lettered if you want it readable on a shelf.
Slipcases are cheaper and worse: they abrade the covers every time the book comes out. I make them on request but will usually try to talk you into a clamshell.
Blank books
Notebooks and journals
Sewn sections in a case binding, which means it opens flat and stays open — the thing most commercial notebooks fail at. Paper choice matters more than anything else here: tell me whether you write with fountain pen, pencil or something that bleeds, and I will suggest accordingly.
Small runs for shops and studios are welcome. Twelve is a sensible minimum; below that the setup dominates the price.
Academic
Thesis binding
Standard hard binding to the usual university specification, in the colour your department asks for, with spine lettering in gold or white foil. Turnaround is one week in term time if you get it to me printed and collated.
Check your institution's requirements before ordering. They differ more than they should, and the department secretary will know them better than the website does.
Practicalities
Payment, postage and timing
Half on acceptance of the quote, half before the book goes back. Bank transfer or cash.
Post books tracked and packed properly: board either side, then a padded outer. Most damage I see in transit is from books rattling loose in an oversized box. Return postage is charged at cost and always tracked.
Four to eight weeks is normal. December and the run-up to thesis deadlines are worse. If you have a fixed date, say so in the first email rather than the last.