Video:

About the Project:

Bounty Archive prints custom 4x6" stickers on thermal labels and binds them into a hardcover sticker book with Japanese stab binding.

Watch as I ask even more of my Nelko thermal label printer, which has been indispensable for Bounty Archive fulfillment and shipping. The 4x6" labels that feed the machine are cheap, and I never tire of watching the satisfying cascade of precisely printed material that it can produce without any ink. It is magical. I don’t own any other printer.

To better understand the limitations of the machine (previously I had only printed barcodes and addresses) I created a “test” label and printed it several times. The machine proved to be limited to one depth of saturation. This meant no overlapping shapes, gradients, or grays. Just black and white. What the Nelko pl70e lacks in artistic ability however, it makes up for in speed, reliability, and the fact that its printed media can be readily folded up accordion-style into a book.

I designed twenty graphics in a 4x5.5” template, leaving a 0.5” margin since I knew the stickers would need to be perforated to tear cleanly out of the book. I arranged the stickers head to tail in a large PDF file, alternating the side (top and bottom) of the extra margin such that when the book folded like an accordion, the 0.5” breaks would all align on the left side of the book. I doubled the file length for a total of 40 stickers in each book.

Using the same bookbinding techniques you’ve come to expect from Bounty Archive, I crafted matching front and back hard covers. I chose to bind the stickers and covers with a simple Japanese 4-hole stab binding, since the labels themselves have a flimsy backing. This was the ideal structure to ensure the stickers all stay in place until their day comes.

The result is an elegant handbound sticker book, a perfect fit for your jeans, front pocket of a designer Oxford shirt, or the glove box of your favorite automobile or small passenger plane.

While this is not intended to be a tutorial, you may feel inspired and/or challenged to use some of the featured techniques to make something functional and beautiful. I hope this is the case.

MATERIALS

Stickers - 4”x6” White thermal labels

Thread - Waxed embroidery floss

Covers - Davey’s binder board

Liner Papers - Japanese kyoseishi - Blue

Book Cloth - Dover book cloth - Blue

If you have any questions about this project or otherwise, contact Bounty Archive Management.