Endpapers
The folded sheet that joins the text block to the cover, and hides the join.
| Weight | 100–160 gsm |
| Grain | Must run parallel to the spine |
| Type | Self-ended, tipped, or made with a cloth joint |
| Size | Twice the width of the book plus 12 mm |
| Fold | One fold, reinforced with a 6 mm cloth joint on a fine binding |
| pH | Neutral, buffered |
| Decoration | Marbled, printed, paste paper, or plain |
| Adhesive | Wheat starch paste, or a 60:40 paste to PVA mix |
| Weight | 100–160 gsm |
| Grain | Parallel to the spine, always |
| Size | 2 × book width + 12 mm |
| Fold | Single fold, at the joint |
| Processes | Tipping, pasting down, jointing |
| Compatible materials | Starch paste, PVA, cloth for the joint |
| Tolerance | Cut 1 mm smaller than the text block on the head, tail and fore-edge |
| Archival | Buffered, acid-free, and reversible if pasted with starch |
There is a simulator for this. Paper Grain Visualizer runs the same relationships in 3D, so you can change a number and watch what it does to the result.
The endpaper is a folded sheet, half of which is pasted to the inside of the cover (the paste-down) and half of which is a free leaf (the fly-leaf). It is a structural component, not decoration: it is what holds the text block to the case, and it is what allows the cover to open without splitting the spine.
Most books use a plain or lightly decorated endpaper, but marbled, printed or hand-painted endpapers are common in fine binding. Whatever the decoration, the paper must be strong, acid-free and — critically — must have its grain running parallel to the spine.
Safety
Using it well
- Cut the endpaper grain to run parallel with the spine. An endpaper with the grain across the joint will crack the moment the book is opened.
- Paste down with the book closed and the board supported, working from the joint outward. Working outward from the joint pushes the air out instead of trapping it.
- Put a piece of waste paper between the fly-leaf and the text block before you paste down. Paste always finds the one page you did not protect.
What it works with
Papers and substrates
- Marbled paper
- Paste paper
- Handmade paper
- Plain coloured stock
Type and fonts
- Not applicable
Processes
- Tipping
- Pasting down
- Jointing
- Marbling
Tools that go with the endpapers
Marbling Kit
Size, pigments and a comb, for floating colour onto a tray and lifting it onto paper.
Bookbinding Glue
PVA for strength, starch paste for reversibility, and the mix that does both.
Book Board
Laminated grey board, 1.5 to 3 mm thick, cut to make the covers of a hardback.