Bob E Collins Hand Bookbinder

In 1965 I began my bookbinding career in Sydney, working for my grandfather & father in the family business at the age of 16, where I learned machine bookbinding and specialty hand bookbinding. We were a family of loose-leaf binder manufacturers, indexing system manufactures and speciality bookbinders.

Bob E. Collins Hand Bookbinder business has been on the Gold Coast in Queensland since 1993 and prior to that I worked in my Grandfather's bookbinding business in Sydney.

This business is specialty hand bookbinding, using various styles & applications
encompassing restoration and repair of all books including bibles, encyclopaedias, medical journals, workshop manuals, atlases, rare and antique books etc.

The two main specialty book binding materials used are:
Arbelave Library Buckram (ALB)- Durable Cloth Hard Cover Material
Arbelave Library Buckram is the market leading buckram in the UK. It is the preferred choice of all leading library binders and specified by ``The British Library’’, ``La Biblioteque National de France’’ and numerous others. Available in a wide range of colours Arbelave Library Buckram is also used for high quality publishing works. It is ideal for both machine and hand application and suitable for all kinds of decoration.

Acrolin - Leather Grained Soft and Hard Cover Binding Material.
A stock range of colours, consistent lightfast colours and smooth surface allows excellent hot foil stamping, strong abrasion resistance finish, excellent glueing surface and mould and termite resistant.

Thesis Binding is a daily occurrence for local universities including Griffith, Bond,
Southern Cross, QUT, UQ, USQ, CQU, ACU & JCU as well as interstate universities.
All thesis binding is bound in Arbelave Library Buckram (ALB), for best results.
Names, titles and dates, are foiled in Gold or Silver, depending on faculty requirements.

I’ve done thesis binding thousands of times, but for most of you, it’s the first time.
You can rest assured that we will take care of your precious work and bind it in the right format. Speaking of format, university faculties quite often differ with their specific requirements, so PLEASE check with your particular faculty as to their up-to-the-minute binding specifications, i.e. Title, Date, Colour, Abbreviation for Spine (if the title is long).
NOTE: It is your responsibility to research the correct formatting, so I can get it right.

Restoration and Repair
This covers every type of book imaginable, and every book(s), need to be viewed and assessed for quoting prior to ‘waiving-the-magic-wand’ over them to turn them
‘back-in-time’. Over many years in this business, there has been some outstanding
volumes presented for restoration and repair. The oldest being a small prayer book
dated 1511. It was restored / repaired to it’s original state with a minimum of change.

Another, some years ago, was a journal found in a ‘secret’ compartment
in a large wardrobe inherited and imported from England. It was in fact a hand written account of a fleet of sailing ships, commissioned by the then King, to sail north from England, to try and find a passage through the North Pole. It was magnificent with many fold-outs of hand sketches of the fleet moored in sheltered bays. It was dated 1772. It remains a mystery how it got there and why. My job was to re-attach the front cover.

There’s lots of stories about interesting books, so if you have any that need revamping, I will be happy to assist you. Sometimes it’s a very recent book that just needs fixing.

Encyclopaedias, as they get older, become much more interesting, because of the
grammar and history etc., so they are presented for restoration quite often, then they can be handed down to family members, as do the hundreds of Bibles repaired and transformed. We can convert hard covers to soft covers for the flexible feel, and soft covers to hard covers, if you want.

A common service I provide, if you are a Jehovah's Witness, is to combine your New World Translation Bible with your Reasoning book into a Soft Leather cover with your name foiled on the front for a durable personalised book.

Corporate Presentation Binding for advertising, graphic design and property development companies. Also point-of-sale displays, to showcase their products and services, at a ‘high-end’ level. Tender documents, Resumés and anything that needs to make the best impression possible. . . . . .
(You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression).

Family Histories & Memoirs are hand bound into hard and soft covers to the customers liking, with durable bookbinding materials as well as ‘real’ leather, if needed.

Menu & Wine List Folders for upmarket restaurants & bars that last, look good
& are durable for years. Many designs and formats can be achieved for your needs.

Special Events such as births, weddings, 21st birthdays, art shows, grand openings and funerals etc., are accommodated for, with very personalised embossing, foiling & titling on quality hand bound books, binders & folders.

Some ‘claims-to-fame’ binding have been for Queen Elizabeth I I for the two-box set of leather bound condolence books from the Gold Coast residents, upon the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

The condolence books presented to George W. Bush, President of USA from the Gold Coast City Council and residents, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The recent award winning 14 volumes presented to Gold Coast City Council for the redevelopment of the Evendale precinct, over the next 20+ years.

Archival Binding is ongoing for Gold Coast Bulletin, Tweed News, company records, collectors books, medical, legal and periodical magazines into volumes, etc.

Embossing / Foiling in gold, silver or a special colour you desire, on the front, spine
or back of that special book or presentation.

Movie Books over the years have been a constant requirement from local & interstate
movie studios. Hero books and props etc., for 43 major movies to date have been bound,
including Scooby-Doo, Peter Pan, Ghost Ship, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,
Last Bullet, Lost World x 3, Nims Island, Fools Gold, Flipper, Swimming Up Stream, George of the Jungle I I, Narnia x 2, Elephant Princess - ( a TV series ) and Mental,
to mention a few. . . . . Phew !!