D&D 5E Book With Page Falling Out

[Prakriti]

I actually think [books] are more useful once you rip them out of the binding

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[AaronOfBarbaria]

As much as a love a good looking game book, I actually think hey are more useful once you rip them out of the binding and put them in a three ring binder. That's my plan if mine ever fall apart. After I scan all the pages to PDF that is.

Reinforced 3-ringing is what I have always done with books that start shedding their own binding. Not that it happens much, though.

I've been thinking about switching to a different system (like comb or spiral binding) so the books can lay flat easier and take up less shelf space... but I've not followed through with starting to save for the appropriate hardware to do that at home.

 

[delericho]

Especially with the MM, the idea of putting the pages into a binder definitely has some appeal.

That said, I'm strongly leaning towards the position that the day a page falls out of one of my 5e books is the day I abandon the edition. Because two years after the PHB was released and showed the problem, WotC still haven't fixed it for their newer products (pages of SKT were loose before I'd finished my read-through), which is unacceptable.

 

[Li Shenron]

Because two years after the PHB was released and showed the problem, WotC still haven't fixed it for their newer products (pages of SKT were loose before I'd finished my read-through), which is unacceptable.

Really this sucks... I thought they have fixed it in the later printings of the 3 core books, is it not? Has the problem resurfaced with adventure books only? Or is this STILL an existing problems with the 3 core? I won't buy any replacement PHB/MM if it has the same problem as the early ones!

 

[HomegrownHydra]

Really this sucks... I thought they have fixed it in the later printings of the 3 core books, is it not? Has the problem resurfaced with adventure books only? Or is this STILL an existing problems with the 3 core? I won't buy any replacement PHB/MM if it has the same problem as the early ones!

Yeah, I had also thought that the binding problem was fixes in the updated versions of the core books, and i guess I just assumed it was not a problem in the newer adventure books.

All of the books are still perfect bound which is a cheap method of binding. So even if they made some attempt to address the issue (like switch printers) they are still going with a type of binding that isn't up to the standards you'd expect from a hardcover (although it's now a very common way to save costs).

 

[Tormyr]

I let the section fall out. Then I run a line of Aleene's tacky glue down the spine and replace the section.

 

[delericho]

Really this sucks... I thought they have fixed it in the later printings of the 3 core books, is it not? Has the problem resurfaced with adventure books only? Or is this STILL an existing problems with the 3 core? I won't buy any replacement PHB/MM if it has the same problem as the early ones!

I'm afraid I can't comment on later printings of any of the books - it's entirely possible that they've gone for better bindings on later CRs but stuck with cheap ones for adventures/supplements.

(And there would be some sense in doing that - the core rulebooks can be expected to be heavily used for years, while the adventures for only a few months. So a cheaper binding may not be such an issue.)

 

[Cyanobacterium]

I'd like to know what print run the falling-apart monster manuals come from (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer's_key). I know that the first print run of the PHB fell apart quickly, but my PHB from print run #3 is holding strong (I have two PHBs) and so are my other books. I bet whether the books hold together or not has more to do with variation in the manufacturing process (maybe their glue was getting stale on a particular day) than decisions made at WotC.

Anyway, about half the pages have fallen out of my first print PBH and I cant wait for the rest to fall out so I can put them in a 3-ring binder as mentioned above.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'd like to know what print run the falling-apart monster manuals come from (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer's_key). I know that the first print run of the PHB fell apart quickly, but my PHB from print run #3 is holding strong (I have two PHBs) and so are my other books. I bet whether the books hold together or not has more to do with variation in the manufacturing process (maybe their glue was getting stale on a particular day) than decisions made at WotC.

Anyway, about half the pages have fallen out of my first print PBH and I cant wait for the rest to fall out so I can put them in a 3-ring binder as mentioned above.

Its mostly WoTC being skin flints on binding and charging more for their books.

This was also an issue on the 80's as Gygax got the books with stitch binding while later on they went with cheaper binding. My 1977 DMG is holding up well the 1985 OA book has pages falling out (the only 1E hardcover book I own doing that).

There is something wrong when a 30+ year old softcover with staples holds up better than the new hard covers though IMHO. Or even Paizo era Dragon/Dungeon magazines. Or even spiral bound and hot glue bound printouts done at the local printer.

Anyone recommend what type of glue one could use to try and fix it yourself? Buy a new MM and get the old book hole punched would be another way of doing it.

 

[pukunui]

Anyone recommend what type of glue one could use to try and fix it yourself? Buy a new MM and get the old book hole punched would be another way of doing it.

I've just been using H2 Stick-it Adhesive. You can get it at the supermarket or Mitre 10. Seems to work well enough.