I'd like to start downloading books off of the net and binding them for my personal use. If anyone has done this before and would be so kind as to give me pointers as to the most cost effective way to do this, I would be grateful.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Huh, interesting. I suppose you could find one of those online vanity presses, as a possibility . . .
What format are you going to be working from?
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
By format, I take it you mean the program that formats the text for printing. Just doing a brief google for this before I posted, it seems like there are a couple programs that format the text properly for your printer to print pages front and back appropriately, but I was really hoping to get input from people who have done this kind of thing before.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
And I don't want to use a vanity press as that would defeat the whole purpose of saving time and money. I would just order the book before I did that.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I was more speaking to the original format. For instance, are these Project Gutenberg e-texts, or are these PDFs?
I think the estimates of printing cost are excessive with any good laser printer (which if you're planning to do more than 10 books in such a manner you should definitely acquire).
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
If the files are in plain text format, I'd suggest taking steps to prettify them. A nice garamond would likely look good.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Awesome. Thanks for all the suggestions. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I'm assuming he's intending to pull 'em into a word processor to apply fonts, chapter breaks, and paginations.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Bookwyrm, thank you especially for taking the time to type out those detailed instructions.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Since he's dealing with large documents, he likely wants to avoid Word.
I'd suggest something that does nice layout, such as LaTeX, if you're familiar with it already at all.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Nope. Haven't a clue. I'll look into it.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
1. Print on 3-hole punch paper, 8.5" x 11". 2. Purchase binder of appropriate width. 3. Open rings on binder. 4. Place pages in binder. 5. Snap rings shut.
For fun variations, buy binders with clear insert sleeves and make your own title page & binder edge use Word and some card stock.
Another fun variation involves using numbered index pages.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I was thinking LaTeX, myself, but Word should actually be able to do a decent job. While Word 2000 had a known bug in its Outline View that caused large documents to bite the big one, that's been resolved in 2003. I wouldn't want to do substantial TYPING in Word with a document longer than 300 pages, but applying styles and setting up footers should go pretty smoothly.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Cool. Once again, thanks for the suggestions.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I've heard that in even the latest word, merely opening really large documents is excruciating, but I've never tested it myself.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
You could also invest in a machine like this or this for comb-binding. It isn't as permanent, but it's relatively easy to manage.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Onl;y if you are going to do a lot of binding, though. Or just go with the magical three-hole punch method as Bob suggested.
Edit: Do you have kids, SS? Because the little bound books are great for journals and sketchpads if/when you are done with them, if you only print on one side.
[ February 22, 2005, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
It's not quite the same thing, but the same idea. Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Yup, and yours had a much larger price range (low and high ends both) Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I use the one we have in our school library all the time and I just love it. I really want to get one.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
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