Showerthought: Why does everyone on YouTube use PVA glue like it's the only option for bookbinding?

I was watching a tutorial last night from a guy with 200k subscribers, and he was using basic Elmer's white glue to attach mull to a text block. Said it was 'perfectly fine.' Now I've been binding books for almost 30 years, started at a small shop in Portland back in the 90s, and I can tell you that PVA has its place. But it's not great for everything. It dries too rigid, and over time I've seen it crack on spines, especially with thicker books or any kind of use. I still prefer a good wheat paste or a PVA/wheat paste mix for most steps. The bond is stronger and more flexible. Has anyone else noticed this trend of people treating PVA like a one-size-fits-all fix? Or am I just shouting at clouds here?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris92712d ago

Honestly the PVA hype is mostly driven by how fast it dries so people can finish videos quicker, not because it's actually better for the book long term. Ngl I've seen folks skip paste because they think it's old fashioned, but that flexibility wheat paste gives you is the difference between a book lasting 10 years and a book lasting 50. Tbh if you want to see a real nightmare, try using straight PVA on leather or cloth hinges and watch what happens after a couple seasons of humidity changes.

fiona_west2113d ago

Guess I've been shouting at clouds this whole time with my paste pot.

tessa_murray13d ago

My friend Carla tried this EXACT thing with her flower press last summer. She spent THREE WHOLE HOURS arranging petals in that little pot and pressing them with a hot iron, @fiona_west21, convinced she was making some sort of magical keepsake. When she opened it up the next day, every single petal had turned into this sad, gray mush that smelled vaguely of burnt sugar. Should have stuck to just pressing them in a book like normal people.