Perfect binding is one of the most common
forms of book binding today. The problem is that
true perfect book binding systems are quite expensive, and not
conducive to a single book or to the beginner. It is now possible to
create a perfect bound book with your thermal book binding system!
Perfect binding is one of the most common
forms of book binding today. It is typically the style of book binding
used for most paper back books and phone books. The problem is that
true perfect book binding systems are quite expensive, and not
conducive to a single book or to the beginner. It is now possible to
create a perfect bound book with your thermal book binding system!
1. Materials
A good thermal book binding machine is a must. Some small/entry level
thermal book binders will not get hot enough to yield a strong enough
bind.
The cover used for a perfect book bind is a single sheet
of paper that is large enough to encompass the front cover, back cover
and the spine of the book. Most perfect book binding has printing on
all three sides.
You will need a device to score the cover to cleanly and accurately fold the cover at the spine.
You will need an adhesive thermal binding glue strip to insert in the spine of your scored book
Finally, all perfect bound documents need to be trimmed. This will more than likely require a stack cutter.
2. Creating the cover
Once the text of the document is printed, you can get an accurate measurement of how thick of a spine you will need.
You can then create the artwork for the cover making the spine text the appropriate size.
It is a good idea to create tic marks on the cover (in an area that
will get trimmed) to mark the point for scoring the cover.
Score and fold the cover, creating a 'U' shape.
3. Adhesive
The adhesive strip will need to be trimmed down to size.
Take the measurement of the book block, and cut the adhesive strip
just slightly oversized. Cut the strip about 1/8" short on the top and
bottom of the book so the adhesive does not run out the ends of the
document.
Place the adhesive strip in the spine of the book.
4. Binding the document
Once the cover is created, and the adhesive is cut to size, place the
document in the cover and place the document into the cover.
Then run through the bind cycle as you normally would for traditional
thermal book binding. (It is highly recommended that you run these
covers through a couple of bind cycles).
Cool the document
5. Trim the book
Cut the document down to finished size using a stack cutter.
Notes and suggestions:
You can try to cut the cover down to size prior to binding the book.
This could eliminate the need for a more costly stack cutter, but is a
much less exact finish.
Due to the fact that the adhesive strip
is probably not perfectly cut and since there is no edge glue, the
front and back pages may not be securely bound.
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on binding machines,binding covers,binders,laminators,binding supplies,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,index tabs, and shredders.
