Walked into a used bookstore in Portland and noticed all their rebinds used Japanese stab binding instead of standard case bindings

The owner told me it holds up better against humid weather and now I'm wondering if I should switch my own repair method since half my clients live in coastal towns, anyone else run into this?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles82521d agoTop Commenter

Wait, do they actually hold up better in humid climates? I used to think stab binding was more of a decorative thing, not something you'd trust for actual repairs. But honestly, the more I think about it the more it makes sense - that stitching distributes stress way differently than a glued case binding, and glue hates moisture. A buddy of mine lives in Seattle and swears by it for his own books, says he hasn't had a single spine crack since he switched. Your mileage may vary depending on the paper thickness and how often people are opening the book, but I'd give it a shot on a test copy first before rolling it out to clients.

leoward20d ago

Seconding this hard. My repair stack in Florida went from warped to flat after I switched.