A photo strip book hides a picture in the edges of its pages. The photo is cut into thin strips, one for each sheet of paper, and each strip is fixed to the edge of its page. Closed, the book looks almost normal; fan it open and the strips line up into your photo. Makers also call it foto book art, fore-edge photo art or book edge photo art. Here is how to make one from start to finish.
What You Need
- A book, ideally between 300 and 400 pages
- A photo with one clear subject
- A printer and plain A4 or Letter paper
- Scissors or a paper trimmer
- Double-sided tape or glue
Step 1: Choose Your Photo
Pick a photo with one main subject and good contrast: a face, a pet, a silhouette or a landmark against the sky. Busy scenes with lots of small details get lost in the strips. Tall (portrait) photos fit the edge of a book best; if you want a landscape photo, rotate it a quarter turn before you upload it.
Step 2: Choose Your Book
You get one strip for each sheet of paper, so the number of pages decides how fine the picture is. More pages give thinner slices and a smoother photo. Around 300 to 400 pages is a good place to start. Measure the height of a page in centimetres; the strips are made to that height.
Step 3: Make the Pattern
Open BookFoldPro, choose Photo strip as the technique and upload your photo. Enter the first and last page you want to use and the page height. The 3D preview shows how the finished book will look, so you can adjust the photo before printing. Photo strip patterns are free for books up to 300 pages.
Step 4: Print and Cut the Strips
Download the PDF and print it at 100% (actual size), not scaled to fit. Each page has a 5 cm scale bar, so you can check the print size with a ruler. Every strip is numbered, so keep them in order as you cut them out.
Step 5: Attach the Strips
Start with the first strip and its page. Fold the strip along its dashed centre line and fix it over the edge of the page with double-sided tape or a little glue. Work through the book in number order. If your pages are thin, some makers do a 180 fold on each page first so the edges are sturdier.
Step 6: Fan and Display
When every strip is on, fan the pages gently and the photo appears along the edge. Display the book half-open on a stand, or tie it with a ribbon so it keeps its fan.
Tip: work in small batches of 20 or 30 strips and check the picture as you go. A strip on the wrong page is much easier to fix early.