When binding hard cover books with a thermal
binding machine the final step is to place the hard cover into the hard
cover crimper and tighten it down.The hard cover crimper accomplishes several
important tasks that are essential in providing a high quality finished
hard book.
When binding hard cover books with a thermal
binding machine the final step is to place the hard cover into the hard
cover crimper and tighten it down. Although this step is unnecessary
when using standard thermal binding covers, it is very important when
binding hard cover books. The hard cover crimper accomplishes several
important tasks that are essential in providing a high quality finished
hard book. Specifically, the hard cover crimper is designed to do two
primary things:
1. Immediately after removing your hard cover book
from your thermal binding machine you place it in the bindit hard cover
crimper. At this point the glue is still hot and pliable and process of
crimping your book helps to force the glue up into the base of your
book block ensuring a strong and permanent bind while securely holding
the pages of your book in place. If you don’t use the hard cover
crimper the pages may fall out of your hard cover books after some use.
2. The hard cover crimper is designed to properly form the
spine of the hard cover book. If you look at a finished hard cover book
you will notice that at the base of the spine there is an indented area
that serves as a hinge allowing your book to open and close easily. The
hard cover crimper takes your book while it is still hot and properly
forms the spine of the hard cover giving it a finished look and
ensuring that your hard cover operates correctly.
In the absence of a hard cover crimper I have seen some customers use
an oven mitt to attempt to manually form the spine. It works, but it
doesn’t look great and all of them have ended up buying the hard cover
crimper in the end.
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on binding machines, binding covers, binding supplies,laminators,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,binders,index tabs, and shredders.
