bookman10
Joined 9 months ago
Karma
21
Submissions
16
Member since
Jan 7
Recent submissions
Comment · 8 months ago
Yes that works too, it's just the grain direction on printer paper runs along the long edge so the books end up very stiff if they're folded.
Comment · 8 months ago
That's neat. I'll look into that.
Comment · 8 months ago
I had a good experience using Lulu for print on demand books. You can order just quantity one if you want to go that route.
Comment · 8 months ago
I agree. I wish I had the time to retypeset those. I would be concerned though with mildew/mold on old, used versions though.
Comment · 8 months ago
My understanding is that ink tank printers can be cheaper per page, but lasers can be faster and possibly more durable. I think professional machines tend to be laser printers. I haven't had a problem with the heads drying out but I try to use my printers at least weekly.
I like the Epson ink tank printers and have been happy with them. I usually use cheap generic ink. I wouldn't be surprised at all if there are better options though.
I mostly do perfect bound books so I can use normal printer paper, center the pages, and it will be in the correct grain direction. Otherwise you'll have to order through dedicated specialty paper suppliers and also might need a larger format printer. In a pinch, you can ignore grain direction but the end result definitely isn't as good. Once I run out of my current cover paper, I'll probably order coated on 1 side short grain paper from some specialty paper supplier.
I also use a one sided laminator on the cover which makes the cover much more durable.
I think the manual cutter works well enough for me. It does work at 400 pages with some muscle. Upgrading to a programmable cutter would be the next step for me, but it would only be needed if you're making 5+ books a day.
I use a manual perfect binder like this: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/A4-Size-Wireless-Desk...
It gives better results than thermal binding, but it's probably not worth the investment for most people.
I also like velobinding for short things.
Comment · 8 months ago
Thanks, I hadn't seen bookbinder.js, that looks really neat. I'll remember that if I get back into sewn binding.
I personally like to use standard A4/letter size paper and print one page per side and do perfect binding. Printing two A5 pages on A4 was my original approach, but then the grain direction is wrong for standard computer paper and the pages come out too stiff.
I think the quality is good enough for me, but I definitely understand the appeal of sewn binding.
Comment · 8 months ago
That would be including paper and toner, although it can be more.
For example, I can buy 5,000 sheets of printer paper for around $50. You use both sides so that would be half a cent per page.
I use an ink tank printer and you can get maybe a quart of ink for around $15.
It wouldn't include wear and tear on the printer, which is harder to quantify.
I also like to use cream colored paper instead of white which adds another half cent per page for perfect binding. Glue for the spine is a penny.
The cover itself might be around 20 cents of paper and 5 cents of ink.
Comment · 8 months ago
Thanks, I'll definitely feel proud if I see someone else actually make one of these books.
Comment · 8 months ago
Not yet and it's a little messy now to be honest.
The pipeline itself is in node.js and uses mostly pdf-lib (https://pdf-lib.js.org/) and ebook-convert (https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/generated/en/ebook-convert....)
For epubs, I split the book into chapters and run ebook-convert on each chapter individually, adding an extra page if needed to make the number of pages even. Then I combine all the chapters and do a custom scheme for numbering (because you don't want numbers on blank pages, you want the numbering to start at chapter 1, etc)
For html books from Project Gutenberg for example, I make sure they have text in <p> and chapters in <h2>. Then do a similar logic with ebook-convert.
For pdf books, I just use pdf-lib to draw the pages directly.
I also shift odd pages to the right and even pages to the left so there is a larger inner margin than outer margin.
If you're looking to do custom books, I would just use ebook-convert by itself, it just won't be quite as pretty though because it lacks those improvements.
Comment · 8 months ago
It's a really neat hobby. It's great for gifts, especially if you take the high quality artistic approach. I like to do simple "perfect binding" because it saves money (materials are probably around a penny per page), gets me the book faster than buying it, and makes all my books consistent in font, size, and cover style.
Comment · 9 months ago
Church -> Marriage -> children -> kids sporting events or school events
Comment · 9 months ago
This doesn't address the entire point of the recommendation, that saturated fats like tallow and butter aren't inflammatory compared to PUFAs, and that red meat is filling and extremely nutritious. Limiting those things over heart disease risk is wrong, especially when most people will replace them with sugar and seed oils, which are extremely inflammatory and fattening.
Comment · 9 months ago
I found it very disturbing how heavily these were marketed as miracle drugs that would "bankrupt fast food". Seems like another instance of create a problem ("food" industry) and sell a recurring "solution" (big pharma).
Comment · 9 months ago
This is so much better. I wish this had been the advice when I was young.