¨ Most home printers will only accept an A4 page, so unless you are doing a small book which A4 will adequately cover, you will only be able to produce a labelled spine and do a library binding on the book. (Or you can trick the eye by making a join in the shoulder of the book).

¨ Embossing is no substitute for proper heat-set foil or leaf lettering. It is less precise, and is raised above the surface of the cloth rather than being indented. However, it does offer neat lettering and book decoration at home.

¨ No research has been conducted into the long-term durability of embossing or the archival qualities of printer ink.
NOTE ADDED : Saturday, June 10, 2000 . We have noticed some loss to spine titles done a year or so ago. We suspect that the metal adherence of the embossing powder is losing contact with the cloth as the dried printer ink breaks down underneath.

You will need -

¨ A computer with a publishing program (I use Microsoft Publisher. At around $100, it is an excellent program)

¨ Ink jet printer

¨ Book cloth cut carefully to A4 size (This is important. The printer will not take in the cloth unless it has a straight, flat, sharp edge).

¨ Embossing powder (I mostly use Buff Gold by Celebrations of Australia, but silver is also very eye-catching, and of course, any other colour is available also)

¨ Soft paintbrush

¨ Heat gun

¨ Waste paper for covering your embossing area

Procedure

1. Measure the exact dimensions of the spine (or cover) you are going to work on.

2. Using the guide rulers on your screen, create a box the exact size of the area of the spine or cover.

3. Now create a text box for the text you will use for the title, choose a font, centre it, and type in the title. If you have access to WordArt, it is even better, because once you have created your text, you can easily resize it by pulling the handles of the text box and getting it exactly right.

4. If you are printing a whole cover, you will now need to rotate the text box and place it sideways in the middle of the box you have drawn, where the spine will be. You will then need to work on the cover. Now is a good time to print a test page to see if it matches the book's dimensions, and if the title is the right size.

HINT: When choosing a font, you may need to find a condensed font if you have a long title. Try to find the largest font you can, because small fonts tend to run together when you melt the embossing powder. A medium density font is best - thin fonts may not pick up enough embossing powder, and thick ones may look too 'blobby' when melted. If you like the font, but it looks too tightly spaced for the embossing to work well (especially if you have chosen a condensed font), you can use your computer's font manipulation capabilities to space the letters a little further apart. In Publisher, you will find this in Format/Spacing between characters.

5. If you need to type the author's name, and the publisher, make new text boxes for each one and place them in their appropriate places also. Add any decorative elements by creating picture boxes and inserting appropriate clip art.

6. Print a test page now to make sure everything is just right.

7. Now is the time to lay all the embossing equipment out so that you can work quickly when the material comes out of the printer. Make sure you have covered your work surface with waste paper, and that no embossing powder can get into your computer. It is a good idea to work on a piece of waste paper which has been creased down the middle and opened out again. This makes it easy to fold it and pour excess embossing powder back into the container.

8. Put your book cloth into the printer, making sure it is the right way up for the print to appear, and click on Print (Normal is fine on my printer, but experiment with yours to see which print density suits you best).

9. As soon as the cloth comes out of the printer, whisk it over to your embossing table and cover the wet ink with embossing powder. This has to be completed before the ink dries.

10. When you are happy with the coverage, turn the book cloth upside down over the waste paper and tap the back smartly with the handle of the paintbrush to remove excess powder. Then check carefully, under a good light, to see if any wayward pieces of embossing powder are likely to spoil your work. Carefully brush them away, taking great care not to touch your print. If you are not happy with the way it has turned out, it is possible to wipe off both embossing powder and ink with a damp cloth at this point and try again later when the cloth is dry.

11. If everything looks fine, set the embossing powder with the heat gun, making sure you melt the powder evenly and stopping before you over-melt it. If you find any wayward spots of embossing powder have escaped your notice, they can be carefully removed with a cotton bud and white spirit, taking great care not to damage the book cloth.