This is great. Basically, seal your books so oxygen doesn't get to it. Taking pride in a book collection and taking proper care of them is key. Bravo. Clear, concise tutorial.
Alternate suggestion: cover the dustjacket in contact paper. In my opinion it gives a neater look than the Demco covers. Also, when I'm attaching the contact paper, I peel off only a few inches initially, attach it one end of the book, then slowly peel off the backing paper as I press the contact paper onto the book. This helps avoid the problem of the contact paper sticking to itself or picking up stray bits of hair and dirt.
Great info for the paperbacks. I've already been covering my hardback books, but I go one step further and tuck the cover into the opening of the slipcover after they have been folded over. This step protects the corners of the hardcover and keeps the slipcover from sliding off.
Very nice collection. Helps immensely to have a marked cutting board. I hope when you "trim the corners" you are not actually getting into the cover itself at all. Never compromise the book itself in any way was how I was taught ...
I love this. THANK YOU! As much as I love to keep my books in great condition, I also LOOOOOVE the crinkly sound of plastic on hardcover books from the library- so that’s actually what drove me to begin covering my books in plastic. Thank you again for this tutorial!
Pro tip for air bubbles: grab a fine needle and carefully pierce a tiny hole and you can flatten the bubble. I've never seen the outside of a paperback contacted like that. I lay the contact down on the table and start by laying the back cover down first by starting at the edge and rolling it down to the spine. Sometimes you can roll the spine too. I cut straight diagonally across the corners, then use the diagonal offcuts and put it on the inside corners to hold the folded over contact down better. I don't cut off the book corners because if you go close enough to the corner when cutting the diagonals off you don't get the sharp point in the contact. I even contact worn 2nd hand books. Never to late to start protecting them. Plus contact is great for us sweaty handed individuals!
I seriously need to start doing this. I have so many collectible books out of print from the 80's both hardback and paperback. I have 7 6foot bookshelves full of books in my house, one is all Stephen King.
Tip for covering dust jackets: when you fold the wings around the front and back boards of the book, pull them out and crease them both. The will help the newly covered jacket conform tighter and make the book nicer to handle.
I really appreciate this, I’ve been looking for a way to protect my Dads 1960s LoTR Trilogy, they’re not in the best shape but it’s never too late and they hold sentimental value
This is an incredible video!!! Thanks so much for making this. I ordered from Demco. Can't wait to watch this again once I get my covers so I can protect all my books!
Finally someone that gets me, every time I scratch a book or fold a cover it haunts me forever. Which of the two techniques would you use for books that don't have a dust cover but ain't paperbacl either, those ones that have a folding cover inside?
You can also save the corners you cut on a 45 when wrapping a paperback in contact paper and put them back into the inside corners for added strength/protection against bending. Also covers any open area left when folding in the 'flaps'.
Order the 10x21 size from Demco. www.demco.com/demco-reg-polyfit-trade-book-jacket-covers-sheets **** www.demco.com/demco-reg-polyfit-trade-book-jacket-covers-on-rolls ** www.amazon.com/Brodart-Fold-Archival-Jacket-Covers/dp/B003XEWCY2/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=plastic+book+jacket+covers&qid=1598999099&sr=8-12 ** www.amazon.com/Tact-05F-C7R100-12-Protective-Documents-13-5-Inches/dp/B00G6N62W0/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/131-0207697-2623813?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00G6N62W0&pd_rd_r=bcc54351-9496-47f4-a60a-a1b72b2e4ecf&pd_rd_w=b4PDt&pd_rd_wg=9OuDK&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=M39XC6BZ5HNGTEC0VC28&psc=1&refRID=M39XC6BZ5HNGTEC0VC28
I just received a 30-pack today. Watching this video again for a quick tutorial & then I'm tackling my rares & favorites. Thanks for pointing me in this direction. I love it.
Love you and your channel Brian. Just purchased your first book and am really excited to read it. Wish your books were more accessible in UK bookshops take care x
So I just got Mylar covers from Amazon but it’s just a giant roll of the material. Cannot imagine how long it would’ve taken me to cover all my books…. I just ordered 4 boxes of the demco omg it’s going to save me hours of labor. Can’t thank you enough. Can’t believe how quickly you can wrap a book. Can’t wait!! Great video :)
If you cut four 45 degree right-angled triangles for each corner of the contact on the book, you can inlay each of those four triangles back on the four corners of the inside of the book over each edge, helps reinforce the corners
This is what I do too. You generally don't get sharp points on the corners either, if you carefully cut flush to the corner, although sometimes you take a tiny corner off, just before folding the flaps over, rather than after.
Sooooo happy to hear I'm not the only person that freaks out on a cracked book spine. It drives me literally crazy when some of your friends look at one of your books and proceeds to open the book up totally flat. Its like, what a second! Let me have that back for a minute to teach you the rules of opening a book. Lol
Gave my roommate my old David Gemmell - Wolf in Shadow to read. Came into the loungeroom to find him holding it in one hand with the cover folded back over itself. Was shocked someone would do that to a borrowed book. Needless to say it was the last time. And I'm still searching for a replacement of the same edition 20 years later!
Ay, these cats and boxes! Thank you so much for your video. I have been trying to figure out how to preserve my books. I am so glad I found your video. I was curious about the longevity of contact paper and you covered it. You even went one step further than other channels by providing links on amazon. Thank you again!!
I forgot to add there is a tool you can use to keep the bubbles away easier. Here is a link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MT6U2OO/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3KBWW50I6MSCE
An inspiration! I have many books from the late 1800s and early 1900s. I wonder how they would do with the plastic. Beautiful to see a man/person so passionate about his magnificent collection. Thank you. It's a great tutorial.
Ahhhh, thank you for this! A lot of other tutorials had me cutting templates out of rolls of plastic, and then taping them up.... It all seemed like a major hassle.
Great tip! I did this with normal wrapping paper for my schoolbooks back in the day. But I wouldn't dare to use stick on plastic on my beloved books 😱 but the bookcovers look cool. I will wait for the link since I never seen them and hope the are available in my country (the Netherlands)
Ow I did it wait for the last 2 min I dont think I know what contact paper is it looked like someting we call booklon its like a sticker you can not get it off(it's like a sticker )
Contact Paper peels right off. BTW I don't use the Contact Paper on every paperback. Some of the paperbacks have a nice texture and feel to the cover I don't want cover up
If I could "love" a RU-vid video this would be one of them to click it. This is such an amazing idea! I will be getting these supplies and getting to work on my collection ASAP. Thanks so much for sharing!
Dude I really appreciate you and I really hope your channel blows up it's really cool to see an author just doing his thing. love your books man take care
This video helped me out alot as I HATE having cracked spines. But I also want to apologize. I've given you alot of shit on this channel for promoting your books. Who the hell am I to tell YOU what you can or can't do on your channel. I do enjoy your channel genuinely. Seeing all these classic fantasy paperbacks and hearing these stories is very cool. I apologize and hope you see this comment
" we don't break our spines folks we're not animals" Ahem yes of course. I certainly didn't decide that Harry Dresden was my favorite character when he started making fun of people who preserve the spine. That wasn't the funniest thing ever to me. Nope. Hey seriously though this is great stuff thank you.
They don't sell those book jacket covers in the UK, unless I'm not looking in the right places. I have a few books that came with exactly that kind of protective covering and they all came from the States. So I've had to order film that comes on a roll from Ebay. It might not be ideal, but it's the best thing I can find.
I use contact paper on my reference paperback books. Even for some of my hardbacks. Thanks for the slip cover vendor recommendation. I couldn't figure out where to get them. The bulk of my books though, I prefer leaving them as is. Because ... plastic is mostly not very aesthetic. I put temporary paper book covers on the books I am currently reading in order to keep the oil stains from my hands at a minimum. And yeah, I'm one of those people who, if I damage a book, I buy a new one. Sad. ;)
Get a fine needle and carefully pierce the edge of the bubble, then you can flatten them out. Make sure to hold the needle almost horizontally to the book so you don't jab the cover.
I have a hardcover book from 1920 that looks brand new. The complete boards of the hardcover, spine included, have been coated with can only be described as a clear shellac, thus giving the book a sheen finish and hard coat that prevented complete wear and tear from happening. The book looks like it just came from the publisher, except for the sheen look. Have you ever heard of this being done before for book preservation about 100 years ago?
iv got the forgeting mooning one of Brians books he wrote its on mt book collection one im going to read as soon as I can I have almost 300 books I read them in turn and I put the new ones I recently got to the back and as I keep them for longer and longer I read them in turn one after the othere I mix my genre up Im like a reading mechine like one after the othere because that is like my fav thing it helps me unwind keeps me sane in this life long story, I read them from the one iv kept the longest to the newst in turn and I add them to my good reads and I have good reads on my mobile phone eka cell phone or whatever the rest of europe calls it, I read like my own personal conver belt, That dosen`t matter, I did say I was going to read Brian lee durfees 5 worrior angles books sometime, I have the three books and the forgeting moon book feels the most oddest feeling it lovely its like some velvety feeling its lovely, I wounder how you did that be able to make a book cover feel like velvet, oh by the way my three 5 worrior angek books are paperbacks and there size of hardbacks no honwstly.
The thing about books is eventually you leave an imprint on the book. It might be a slight tear on a page or an accidental fold of corner. It these little things that bring back memories of what you were doing the last time you hit that page. That along with the scent of aged paper is a joy 😊
Thanks so much for this video. Do you have any advice for covering paperbacks that have those embossed/raised text on the titles? Every time I try with contact paper there's always air pockets around the letters and i hate how it looks 🥲
Thank you, this is super help full and exactly what I was searching for! I'm wondering if anyone from Europe knows where they might find these type of plastics or what their names are because I can't seem to find them. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the video! I use transparent plastic book covers for my novels and they make my books look exactly like your plastic book jackets. But after a few years of use, they start to look old and lose their shine, and due to this I have to change the covers. So my question was, with your plastic book jackets, does the look and shine remain intact even after some years of use?
I’m new here to your channel, as of a couple days ago. I love your top 10(or 24) book lists and am adding to my own list of books to read for your suggestions. I was wondering about how you cover your books, so thank you for this video!
I’ve been a library clerk for years and have never even thought to protect my collection! I have a couple old film books held together with 80s-era duct tape. (I’m sorry!)
Why didn't you put the hardcover inside the fold of the book cover after you covered it? Meaning inside the cover and not just wrapping the book in it.
i'm having problems. the paper is not folding easily and when i'm finished the mylar is all jambled and it pulls open the covers and its just not as smooth as yours, or the library's, or the other books i buy with mylar on them. i'll keep practicing--but i don't know what i'm doing wrong. do i need to fold and crease the mylar/paper more thoroughly? i'm worried about ruining my dust jackets. argh. this is why i've been putting this off for years. great video though. it helped a lot. you make it look so fucking easy. my protectors are a little different from yours, they are adjustable with dotted lines for folding a little pieces of tape. i don't know if that matters. anyways, cheers Durfee, i love the content. you da man.
