I'm having mine perfect bound.

I got a book about bookbinding and I am uh.. dang, I forget what my technique is called, but I am doing that.

[img]http://www.atruscorp.com/images/upload_440b43bf3fd67.jpg/[img]

This is the binding that I used.

I have images that cross over on both pages and they read fine.

Binding is availabe Alphagraphics

Hope that helps.

Best of luck!

opps...

hmm... wonder why it is getting cut off like that... ah oh well... you get the idea lol.

link to full image:

http://www.atruscorp.com/images/upload_440b43bf3fd67.jpg

Nice cover... What was the turnaround time on the die-cut action, and how much did it cost you?

go old skool circa the renaissance and use cat gut!

you mean pig gut vado...pig gut.

like i think i mentioned before, when i applied to grad school they all wanted slides. seems to me that slides or a cd would be better cuz they can just shoot yer work up on the screen and all the geniuses can comment at the same time. seems like an unnecessary expense to spend all the time and money to put together a portfolio for school. but i guess its just the beginning of the architectural education money pit.

Piano hinges

rationalist, youmay want to check the schools you are applying to, i dont know if piano hinges are acceptable. and most places dont eant slides or cds either, they may want a copy of your portfolio in cd format, but most like the good ol' book.
each website per school usually has requirements/limitations on such things.

I haven't seen a school yet that allows you to submit a CD or slides. That doesn't mean that they don't exist it just means that of all the schools I looked at applying to, those 2 things could not be submitted. I also haven't seen any school that doesn't allow piano hinges. To me, making a physical portfolio was really fun and it should be looked at as a design project. Bind it however you want.

I used a nice metal spiral bind very similar to the image above, but I made a custom hard book cover that went around it so when closed the spirals are hidden. Spirals are pretty unattractive but they are cheap, easy and durable. They also lay flat when opened so its easy to look through. You just have to keep in mind that the admissions comittee is looking at the quality of your work displayed and not at the way you bind it. But its still fun to make a nice package that you are satisfied with.

bucku- thank you for your concern, but I am not such a dunce as to not have checked what format my schools want portfolios in. Half the schools to which I'm applying want slides in slide sheets, the other half want cd's. The piano hinges are for the cd packaging, which will be custom, since I am applying to for graphic design programs.

Again, I understand you were just concerned for me, but I think that at this late date we should assume that everyone is pretty set on what their requirements are.

hell in that case you might as well build a medici slot machine...

Only if you're applying to Notre Dame.

I think i'll use some old shoe laces

rationalist, yeah i figured you were kidding, at the moment i couldnt come up with a smart remark to the piano hinges comment. i think i read somewhere, actually probably on this site, that someone submitted a metal cover-ed portfolio. the reviewer dropped it on his foot and some bad stuff happened. i think that any binding method would probably be fine, but just should not go too far out there. also, in the case of perhaps a wooden covered, or bound, portfolio, many schools have a thickness limitation. weird. but true.

Really nice cover, Amoroso.

After seeing so many nice portfolios, I'm hoping I'll get in because mine will be "different".

nope, not kidding. Piano hinges (aluminum, very light, will remember to soften the pointy edges w/ dremel), plastic sleeve for the cd inside with panels of 1/2" synthetic wool felt on the outside.

what schools are you applying to? i was actually going to ask for recommendatons of nice graphic design schools. aside from parsons and risd, what are some other choices?

MICA, CCA, Pratt. UW for environmental graphics/exhibit. SCAD and RIT as 'safe matches'.

rit?

Rochester Institute of Technology - quarter system (lots of classes!), very good facilities due to corporate tie-ins (Kodak is one, I believe), offer a very good variety of classes and give you enough electives that you can do pretty much whatever you want with the curriculum.

Thanks everyone!

Amoroso, your cover looks great!
those wires look thinner than the plastic coils, so probably the images read much better than when coils are used...

I decided to do this...
http://michaelshannon.us/makeabook/index.html

Ill just try it for two applications and see what I do after those.

Thanks for everyones help!

Thanks for the comments everyone.

turnaround time on the die-cut action, and how much did it cost you?

As far as the engraving and the crisp edges of the cover... I did that all on the laser cutter. At ASU its $5/half hour... but this job in particular didnt take no more than 10 minutes, but they still charge for the half hour. The board I used for the cover is just black chipboard like board from Utrecht for $1.99. I used card stock paper to give it a heavier and richer feel when going through the pages, $5.99 at Fry's (on sale). Plus the binding was $3.99, which is a steal IMO! Kinko’s charge twice as much and they use those thick annoying plastic spirals. The one by alphagraphics isnt a spiral, I think they individual loop each coil through the holes which makes it easier to flip through the pages. Plus there is no sealant or plastic on the coils used, its just the pure raw material which I am a fan of, and it gives it a nice contrast between the cover. Im happy with it.

sirgemhl good decision! Never seen that method done before! Great site! Thanks for sharing! Hope everyhing works out for you.

Best of luck,

Amoroso

baboomba, where are you having it perfect bound? I have called places and they do a minimum of like 100 books.

check out lulu.com. I know there were quite a few people on the 2007 thread that had their porfolios perfect bound by them.

xica - i had my portfolio perfect bound. i had it run at a printer w/ a digital press, and he found the company who would perfect bind it for me. it turned out really well - i had 10 portfolios made and it cost me about $260 bucks for printing and binding. that said - you may have better luck getting a smaller number of portfolios bound if you call a professional printer and ask if they know of someone capable/willing to do it.

i've heard good things about lulu as well, but i've never actually printed anything through them. also - going through a local guy gave me the chance to proof the prints, etc... before it was all printed and bound - maybe not totally necessary, but it gave me peace of mind that it was right.

I actually bought a 'perfect bind' macine and binding glue- to build my self and not spend a lot for that job. The job I did was not as perfect as what a professional could do, but I think they gave me a lot of cred for doing it myself. The later ones I got a 'hidden' wire frame witch you couldn't see on the front side.

just to play a little devils advocate, my professors so far have warned me and my classmates about building an elaborate case/cover for our portfolios. not only does it intensify the effort of reproducing your portfolio, but you run into the problem of having your container distract from your content. they have told me that the prefer simple/traditional binding techniques over intricate metal binders or ornate wooden boxes. obviously theres no right answer, but its something to consider.

To update for those who were skeptical: I did indeed abandon the piano hinges. Not for design reasons, but for time reasons. Instead I hand-embossed custom cd softpaks.

oh, and I found a great book recommendation: Print & Finish by Ambrose/Harris. Picked it up at lunchtime today and can't wait to dig in!