In regards to figuring out what size spine you'll have, it's helpful to know your page count. I found this spine calculator that estimates what the size of your spine will be based on the number of pages you have. Say for instance you have 96 pages, your spine will be roughly be 1/4". It's also important to note that while you can have a spine as small as 1/8" wide, it's best to only put text on a spine that is at least 1/4" or larger for legibility reasons (Formax Printing, Book Printing).
For designing the inside of the book, it's important to keep your gutter margins wide (around 1/4") to account for loss due to the spine. Perfect bound books cannot lie flat like saddle-stitched bindings, and therefore information can be lost if it's placed too close to the gutter. While many of us may not be including full spread images in our books, if you decide to incorporate images or illustrations, it's important to keep the gutter in mind and arrange your images in the file so that they match up across the two pages when printed and bound. (Designing for Perfect Binding).
For the actual crafting of the book, I found helpful tutorials on YouTube on how to glue the text blocks and attach the cover. In this tutorial, PVA glue is used to bind the pages together. Heavy weights such as thick books and bricks are used to weigh down the book to prevent the pages from bubbling.
You can also make a book press to help clamp text blocks together. This tutorial uses the homemade book press
Are there any tips, tricks, and techniques you have that could be helpful as we begin our second project? What are some resources you have found helpful in regards to designing for and crafting perfect bound books?
