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When choosing between binding options for a book project, printers and designers need to consider intended use, cost constraints and required longevity. Perfect binding can be the ideal solution for books, manuals, magazines and a host of other printed products due to its attractive combination of versatility and cost-effectiveness.
Once the perfect binding decision has been made, attention needs to shift to getting your cover right, because well-conceived and properly produced covers are so vitally important to the success of the project. Many factors need to be considered early in the design stage. The book engineering experts at Delta Printing Solutions can help
Here are a few tips to help you prepare covers for your next perfect binding project:
- Grind-off margin: Before laying out any image, check with your bindery to determine their desired grind-off margin. Most companies prefer a grind-off margin of 1/8” but some may want more, such as 3/16”.
- Spine color breaks: If your book has color breaks on the spine edge, request a pre-production sample, aka “dummy,” from your bindery to assist with proper copy layout. Paper bulk varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and these variances, combined with changing atmospheric and moisture conditions, can measurably alter your book’s thickness.
- Crossover image alignment: Accurate crossovers depend on two factors, layout and how the books are opened. Unfortunately, some users are gentle and barely crease the spine during reading while others are rough and break the spine. So, we are aiming for middle ground to make cross over images appear right for the majority of readers. Bottom line: for maximum operator flexibility, place your crossover images 3/16” from the spine edge. If you do so, your crossovers should appear to meet right at the spine for the majority of readers.
- Bleeds into the gutter. To maintain appropriate page pull strength, don’t bleed inks, varnish or paper coatings more than 1/16” into the gutter.
- Cover glue traps: Allow enough head and foot cover overhang to function as glue traps. If your signature spine length is 11-1/2”, then your cover length needs to be at least 11-3/4” and center-positioned with 1/8” overhang on both the head and foot.
- Signature preparation: Perforate the spine and head of your signatures to allow trapped air to escape during folding. This will reduce paper wrinkling and improve clamp grip. Then, bundle-tie them with end boards to compress your forms as tightly as possible. Good perfect binding requires tightly clamped books to go through the grind and glue wheels prior to adhesion with the cover. Poorly clamped book blocks may lead to unattractive spiked glue creeping up between signatures.
The Delta Printing Solutions Advantage
Delta Printing Solutions has been committed to meeting the needs of customers for more than fifty years. Located in Los Angeles County, Delta Printing Solutions is the largest independent provider of books, manuals, catalogs, journals and directories in the Western United States. The company offers superior prepress, printing, finishing and binding services with state-of-the-art technology and craftsmanship.
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