I saw a bookbinder in Portland using a hair dryer to set paste and it blew my mind

I was at the Portland Zine Fest last month watching this binder work on a small edition. She had a cheap Conair dryer on low heat, about six inches from the spine, moving it constantly. She said it cuts paste drying time in half without warping the paper, which was a huge problem for me with my last project. I tried it on a test signature yesterday and it worked perfectly. Has anyone else used a hair dryer for this, or is there a better trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

claire9581mo ago

But wait, does the type of paste matter? I use wheat paste... I'd be worried the heat would make it gummy or dry too fast on the surface while staying wet underneath. What paste was she using?

william331mo ago

That Conair trick seems like a great way to crack the spine glue later.

-2

rowanwells18d ago

My buddy tried that on a repair and the whole thing split open a month later. Total mess.