Repair Tapes

Book repair is a good thing. Since books' appearance helps to win the reader's sympathy, they should be repaired and preserved – as well for reasons of sustainability. With filmoplast^® P, filmoplast^® P 90, and filmoplast^® P 90 plus, we introduce you in this article to our well-proven repair tapes and provide you with tools for perfect book repair.

Rule 1 – The correct solution

Broken books, for example, can be repaired with filmoplast^® P, filmoplast^® P 90, and filmoplast^® P 90 plus. These products can be used to strengthen the bond between the cover and the book body, repair torn pages, and bond documents and papers. Read below to find out which product fits your situation, so you can make the right choice for your book repair.

filmoplast^® P

This transparent and self-adhesive paper tape is used for repairing tears in book pages, but also for protecting and embedding documents. It is specially developed for libraries and archives. The tape is transparent and the taped-over text is still readable. filmoplast^® P is invisible in your book. It is coated with a solvent-free, aging-resistant, and permanently elastic water-based acrylic adhesive. The adhesive is slightly alkaline so that it will not damage the document, but at the same time, there is sufficient buffer capacity to prevent acid decay.

filmoplast^® P 90

This white self-adhesive paper tape can be used for attaching torn-out pages. It is also used to repair old quires and for strengthening of inner book joints, especially for lighter paperbacks. The white special paper is an ideal combination of stability and flexibility. The adhesive is also slightly alkaline so that it will not damage the document, but at the same time, there is sufficient buffer capacity to prevent acid decay.

filmoplast^® P 90 plus

This white, self-adhesive paper repair tape with extra strong adhesive strength is ideal for reinforcing the joint between the book cover and the book block of larger, heavy books. It hardly wears out and is very flexible, perfect for taping into the book joint. This tape is coated with a solvent-, acid- and phthalate-free, aging-resistant, non-yellowing, permanently elastic acrylic adhesive.

filmoplast^® P, filmoplast^® P 90, and filmoplast^® P 90 plus come in convenient dispensers that allow immediate dispensing of your tape, so you can get started right away. The products passed the Photographic Activity Test (PAT) according to ISO 18916.

Rule 2 – The right accessories

In combination with the repair tapes, these tools come into their own.

Teflon burnishing bone

It is made of one piece of Teflon, which is extremely smooth and durable. The Teflon burnishing bone glides smoothly over numerous surfaces without leaving traces. It is adhesive-repellent and easy to clean.

Burnishing bone

Besides the Teflon burnishing bone, this is another classic bookbinding tool made of polished bone with a tapered form.

Felt squeegees

The felt squeegee, made from one piece of felt, is not only suitable for bubble-free application of our filmolux^® book protection films, but also for processing our filmoplast^® repair tapes. The soft felt leaves no traces on the paper.

Rule 3 – The correct information

Check out our other products, devices, and accessories, so you do not forget anything during your repair. Check out the entire portfolio on our website by clicking here.

Whether library stock or a privately owned page-turner - books that we want to preserve in the long run can be protected against damage simply with a range of easy-to-use products from Neschen.  In this article, we present some helpful tips for preserving your books.

Simple solutions for paperback covers, book spines, labels, or book pages

Everyone who likes books knows, they get pretty worn out after a few years.  In public libraries, this process takes place even faster.  After a short amount of time, some books need to be replaced altogether.  To save money and resources, many of the most commonly occurring damages can be easily repaired or prevented altogether.  This way, you can preserve the book in the long run.

Quick and easy application

Filmolux® Soft is a protection film that is very easy to apply and that allows for small application errors to be corrected easily.   There is also a PVC-free alternative - Filmolux® Soft PP.  Thanks to their reduced initial strength, it is very easy to apply the film bubble-free.  With the grid on the back liner, the film can be cut into shape.

Reinforcing or repairing the inner book spine of paperbacks

Anyone who likes to read paperbacks knows the inner book spine is usually one of the parts that get damaged first.  It is a pity if a favourite book falls apart completely.  In public libraries, the books are exposed to even greater strain.  Unfortunately, some readers do not always treat the books with care.

Fortunately, this damage can be avoided or even repaired relatively easily.  With Filmoplast® P90 you can strengthen the inner book spine efficiently.   The self-adhesive, wood-free and tear-resistant special fleece is easy to apply and protects your books from falling apart in the long run.

If you do not want to spend the time or money to equip all books before the damage occurs, Filmoplast® P90 is also an excellent choice.   Dismantled book spings and torn out pages can be effectively repaired.

Preserving book labels

Almost every library uses self-adhesive labels for inventory management.  Unfortunately, these come off quickly.  Having to constantly renew the labels not only causes avoidable costs but also takes a lot of time.

Filmolux® 609 label protection is a good solution.  These pre-cut protective films can be easily removed from the silicone paper.  The product is a self-adhesive, glossy, crystal-clear soft PVC film with spontaneous initial adhesion.

For libraries, it is a great benefit that Filmolux® 609 is washable and resistant to a wide range of cleaning agents and solvents.  This film is coated with a solvent-free, age-resistant and permanently elastic acrylic adhesive.

Protecting what is valuable: Neschen is regarded as the inventor of self-adhesive products for the professional repair and protection of books and documents. We are proud to say that these products are often taken off the shelf or are regularly, eventually take damage. These damages can range from torn or loose pages to damaged book spines. Replacing books can create high additional costs for libraries. Since prevention is always better than repairing the damage, it is a wise decision to protect or strengthen books and papers. This increases durability and saves costs.

Protecting history | Preservation of Documents

Besides being used for books, our products are used to repair and protect important documents. Many of the Filmoplast® line of products have a special composition that works perfectly with the chemical composition of aged paper and the ageing resistance of several products has been assessed and certified by the Foundation for Paper Technology (PTS) in Munich

Filmoplast® R for example is used in the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The Political Archive is almost like a "memory" of the German Foreign Service. Twentyseven kilometers of shelves containing diplomatic documents since 1871, including 35,000 international treaties and countless personnel records bear witness to history. The material is accessible to everyone within the framework of the legal provisions. In the public reading room with 32 sears, more than 1,000 visitors per year inform themselves about historical contexts.

The archive also holds its own restoration workshop, in which employees process damaged archive materials. These include 75 meters of shelf space for fire-damaged files from World War II. The experts bring the archive records into a condition that protects them from further decay for as long as possible and that allows them to be worked with.

Important historical documents, which were partially damaged by fire during World War II, have been sealed with Filmoplast R to preserve them from further damage. Since the mid 1990s, the staff of the restoration workshop have been using Neschen Filmoplast® R for their work.

Filmoplast® R is a wafer-thin, transparent, technical Japanese paper for mass conservation. It is also an ideal material for the preservation of modern papers and newspapers (for wood pulp papers, approx. from the middle of the 19th century). Woodpulp papers contain acid (lignin), which attacks the paper from the inside. This valuable documentation of our past will destroy itself. When encapsulated in Filmoplast® R the magnesium carbonate in the adhesive neutralizes acids and prevents migration through the adhesive layer into the Filmoplast R paper layer, thus stabilizing the encapsulated document. Due to the low thickness of the material Filmoplast® R is hardly visible. The paper character of the original is preserved. Encapsulated book pages can easily be put together again as a book.

Neschen Coating has joined the Fine Art Trade Guild, an organisation representing the fine art and framing industry. The Guild sets standards and guidelines for prints and picture framing. Based in London, the Guild also acts as a regulatory body and has established ethics and operative standards for its members.

Neschen has continuously expanded its product range for this market and research and development still continues

Providing professional mounting and framing solutions for photos, fine art prints, Baryta papers, passe-partouts and more has made Neschen’s portfolio a high-quality solution for a variety of customer demands. For decades, the comprehensive range of adhesives and tapes has been used by international fine art producers, picture framers, museums and photographers alike. The waterbased adhesive formulations are environmentally friendly, something the company puts great emphasis on.

With the large range of filmoplast® tapes, Neschen has made a name for itself as a market innovator. One example of the filmoplast® range is filmoplast® P, a transparent self-adhesive tape for fixing thin papers and an ideal solution for picture framers. The tape guarantees that the suspension remains hidden, even when working with very thin papers. Some filmoplast® tapes are excellent for dust-free sealing. The adhesives are solvent-, acid- and phthalate-free, as well as ageing-resistant and non-yellowing. Neschen’s gudy® Roller.dot, a dispenser with removable self-adhesive dots, offers a transparent transfer adhesive and is perfectly suited for bonding of photos and fine art prints. The dot-shaped adhesive, developed by Neschen, allows for a very easy and bubble-free application. The filmoplast® P, filmoplast® P 90, filmoplast® P 90 plus and gudy® Roller.dot passed the PAT-Test and are thus ideal for fine art producers and picture framers.

Joining the Fine Art Trade Guild – a logical choice for Neschen Coating

The Fine Art Trade Guild is known not only for having set high industry standards, but for successfully transferring them into the digital age. Therefore, joining the Guild was just a logical step for for Neschen. “Neschen Coating GmbH is delighted to be joining the Fine Art Trade Guild. As a manufacturer with market-leading adhesives and tapes for picture framing and fine art reproduction, Neschen is proud to be a new member of the guild. We plan to learn from the Guild Members and develop our portfolio to meet the ever changing market needs”, said Erik Geutjes, Marketing Director of Neschen Coating GmbH.