Hit 50 custom book orders this year and my spine glue started failing

I do small batch hand binding for local authors. Hit 50 orders last week and suddenly my usual pH neutral PVA started letting go on the hinges. Three books came back with the text block separating from the spine after two months. I had to redo them all and switch to a different adhesive mix. Just a heads up, your glue might not hold up past a certain volume or time frame. Has anyone else run into quality issues with their adhesive after a certain production number?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenix2461mo ago

You mention the glue "started letting go on the hinges" after two months, but from my experience running a small business for over 20 years, that sounds more like a shelf life or storage problem than a volume issue. PVA based glues can go bad if they freeze or get too hot in the shop over time, and I've seen a batch go sour on me before without any warning. I'd check when you bought that specific jug and how it was stored before blaming the chemistry itself. Might save you switching formulas for nothing.

robin6281mo agoProlific Poster

But here's what I'm wondering... how would you actually tell if a batch went bad before you started using it? I mean, I've had PVA that looked fine and spread fine but then just didn't hold up. Did you ever figure out a way to test it on some scrap pieces before committing to a big project? Seems like that would be the real trick if storage conditions are really that touchy.