Dorrance Writer's Advocate: Bookmaking

L I T T L E K N O W N W O R L D O F B O O K M A K I N G

Before books can be bound, they first must be printed. The text is printed on large sheets of paper that include many book pages on a single sheet. The sheets are then folded, gathered together, and trimmed to the size of the book. Each sheet makes up one grouping of pages called a signature. Collectively these signatures are called folded and gathered signatures, or F & Gs. These printed signatures make up the pages which are then bound to make a finished book.

Bookbinding can be divided into two general categories-- paperback and casebound. Paperbacks are covered in paper, usually a thick stock, while casebound books, commonly known as hardbacks, are encased in binder's boards similar to cardboard.

The pages of paperback books are bound directly onto the paper cover. The cover is made of a thick paper, usually coated with varnish or a plastic liquid or film to give it permanence and varying amounts of shine. The two most common types of paperback bindings are saddle-stitch and perfectbound. Saddle-stitch is generally less expensive and may be used to bind smaller books, up to a maximum of ninety-six pages. The cover is affixed to the text with wires, which look like staples, along the fold (or spine). Saddle-stitch books contain between two and five wires. Due to the thinness of the book and the visible wires, however, printers are unable to place the title, author name, and publishing company name or logo (collectively called the "spine copy") on the spine of a saddle-stitch book, since that is where it folds. The cover of a perfectbound book is attached to the text with an adhesive. The printed pages (signatures) are glued into the spine of the cover with a powerful adhesive. Since the binding process does not affect the outer cover of the book, spine copy is usually printed on the covers of perfectbound books. Typical perfectbound books include mass market paperbacks, pocket-sized novels, and trade paperbacks.

Casebound or hardback books also fall into two basic categories--adhesive casebound and Smythe sewn. Adhesive casebound books have signatures which are glued to the spine of binder's boards. In a Smythe sewn book, the pages of each signature are sewn together, and the signatures are then sewn to the binder's boards at the spine. This binding is generally used when casebinding is desired for books smaller than ninety-six pages because these books are too thin to be glued to the binder's boards. Smythe sewn is a more expensive process than adhesive casebinding, but it is also more durable. Binder's boards give books their hard covers. The boards are usually covered with cloth, paper, or a type of simulated leather. The cloth and paper are available in all primary colors, and the choice of a particular cloth or type of material used for the cover is one which the author and publisher can make together.

The cover usually contains printing on the spine and, perhaps, the front panel. This is done by stamping foil or ink into the cloth, paper, or simulated leather. Typically the spine copy from the jacket is reproduced on the spine of the cover, and often the title may be printed on the front cover as well. The most commonly used colors of foil stamping are gold and silver, which give the book a rich look; other colors of foil are available but are more difficult to work with and can sometimes incur an additional cost. After books are cased and bound, often printed dust jackets are wrapped around the finished books.

Yet another option for making cases is accompanied by printing artwork and text directly on paper and gluing it to the boards. This is called a printed case. The printed paper is coated to give a very smooth, shiny look. These books do not require wrap-around paper dust jackets because that which would have been printed on the paper jacket is instead printed directly onto the paper-covered cases.

Also distinctive to casebound books are headbands and footbands. These decorative cloth ribs are glued on to the pages at the top and bottom of the spine where the case overhangs the printed text. Headbands and footbands do not act as spine reinforcers but do conceal the glue or stitches which are used in binding the book. They are available in many different colors and are most often matched to colors which are used on the jacket.

In addition to the more common types of binding described above, specialty bindings (such as comb, wire, coil, and other lay-flat bindings) may be used for specific purposes. Dorrance is very flexible in that it offers all of these bindings to our authors in an effort to be author and project-oriented. Dorrance will recommend to you, as an author, a binding which is appropriate for your book. If you have questions concerning this area of bookmaking, please call any one of our author relations representatives at 1-800-695-9599. They will will be more than happy to discuss the specifics of bookbinding as they apply to your project.

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