ABOUT CASE BINDING

Even experienced professionals in the printing and publishing industries can be mystified by the case-binding process. The details of hard-cover construction are hidden beneath the cover and endsheets, and without a guided tour through the process it can be hard to believe there are 15 or more steps required to complete a book after press. This brief description of the methods we use at Cardoza-James Binding Company will give you an overview, and should help to prevent many easily-avoided production problems

FOLDING

After the press puts ink on paper, in most cases the sheets comprising the text of the book must be folded into signatures. (Case-bound books can also be made from collated single sheets; the sewing process used is different than that described in #4 below, but other steps are generally the same.) Large press sheets are folded in one of several ways to produce signatures of 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, even 48 pages. The press size and type, paper thickness, and other considerations will determine what kind of signatures are sent to the binding, and whether they arrive folded or unfolded. In general, web presses can fold signatures in-line; sheetfed press work must run through a separate folding machine. Either way, folding must occur before any other binding step begins. Proper composition/stripping is essential to ensure that signatures fold correctly, page numbers are in order, and that bleeds, trims, etc. are in place for all subsequent steps. It is important to remember that sewn books will not receive a grind-off at the spine edge, and that signatures for Smyth sewing must not be perforated at the spine. Allow minimum 1/8" trims at the head, foot, and fore-edges. The spine must be the final fold. A high-folio lip on each signature is very useful. It is important to pack and ship folded signatures properly to prevent curling, wrinkling, etc.; bundling signatures between boards is an ideal way to press the folds flat and prevent damage. Always consult with your binding before you start stripping/composition.

TIPPING/ENDSHEETS

The next step in the process is cutting, folding, and tipping endsheets to the outside of the first and last signatures. The endsheets are similar to a 4-page signature, with a single fold; they are what you see when you open the front or back cover, and are glued down to the inside of the case. It is important to choose a suitable paper for endsheets, and to make sure that the grain will run parallel to the fold. Stock should be 70 lb. uncoated book weight or heavier. Endsheets are tipped (glued) to the outside of the first and last signatures by machine, with a thin bead of glue along the spine edge. Other items that cannot be sewn into the book such as flysheets, color plates, or 4-page signatures will also be tipped to the folded signatures at this time.

COLLATING

Folded signatures with endhseets and other items tipped on can now be collated to put them in the proper order.

SMYTH SEWING

After collation, signatures are run through a Smyth sewing machine, named after the Smyth brothers who manufactured them. Using a strong nylon thread, these machines sew each signature through the folded spine with several stitches, then link it to the next signature. Smyth sewing holds each signature tightly together so that it will not fall apart, but also allows the spine of the book to bend. This process is the basis of the case-bound book's strength and flexibility. The tension required to tighten the thread for each stitch can pull through the back of the signature if the strength of the paper is insufficient. For this reason, 8 page signatures are the minimum thickness run through the Smyth sewing machine, and 16 or 32 page signatures are preferred, depending on the stock used. Smaller signatures must either be tipped to the outside of a larger one, or nested (inserted) until there are two, three, or four thicknesses of paper to sew through.Smyth sewing also requires that books be made up of at least two signatures, so very thin books must be imposed and paper chosen accordingly.

SMASHING/GLUEING

Smyth sewing is not a "finished" process; the stitches will pull apart if not held in place with some kind of glue. From the sewing machine sewn text "blocks" are "smashed" or pressed to flatten the folds, then the spines are covered with a "first coat" of glue. The glued books then pass immediately over heating elements to dry the adhesive while the book is held square.

TRIMMING

At this point the text portion of each book is ready for its final three-side trim.

MAKING CASES

While the sewing is going on, the board and cloth needed to make the case, or hard cover, can be cut to the proper size. Board thickness and type, cover material, and binding style decisions now come into play. The construction of the case depends on whether the book will have a round or square back, and whether the case is made of a single piece of material, or three, as when the spine is a different material than the front and back covers. Cloth usually arrives on roll and must be sheeted and trimmed. A case-making machine glues off the back of each sheet of cover material, then places the boards for the front and back cover and a material to line the spine area in the proper position. The machine then "turns in" the edges of the cloth around the boards and presses the case to eliminate bubbles and ensure full contact between cloth and boards.

STAMPING/EMBOSSING

After the cases have dried, decoration such as foil stamping/embossing or blind embossing will be added.

ROUNDING/BACKING

If the book is over about 3/8" thick, it can be bound as a "round back" book; thinner than that and the book should be bound with a square back. A round back book needs to be first "rounded," then "backed." The trimmed text block runs through a pair of rollers that force the outside edges down, leaving the front edge with its characteristic concave shape. Next, the rounded text is clamped just below the spine edge and a heavy "backing iron" is rocked back and forth over it. The resulting flared "back" serves to hold the round shape in the book and keep the cover boards in position, and also helps create a proper hinge together with the case. The spine of a square back book will remain flat after trimming; a piece of board is placed in the spine portion of the case instead of the soft paper used in round back cases.

BACKLINING

The book moves next to the backlining machine, where several layers of glue, cloth, and paper are applied to the spine. This step is critically important to the overall strength and durability of the book. A casebound book's text is attached to the case inside the front and back covers, but not at the spine. You can see this by opening a hard-cover book and laying it flat on its back; the gap between the text and cover at the spine allows the book to open flat. The outside of each endsheet is glued to the inside of the boards that form the case, but if the endsheets were the only thing holding the text to the cover, books would quickly fall apart. This problem is remedied by gluing a strong piece of cloth to the spine at the backlining phase which is wider than the spine of the book. This overhang is glued down to the case boards along with the endsheets, and links the spine of the book to the cover. If decorative headbands are being used, they will also be attached at this point.

CASING IN

Once the backlining is applied, the text is ready to be attached to the case. The entire front and back of the book is covered with glue, and then positioned inside the case.

BUILDING IN

After casing in, the book is automatically pressed several times between heated clamps. These not only firm the contact between the text and the case and squeeze out bubbles and wrinkles, the heat also speeds the drying process. Each clamp also has a raised "former" that presses in the joint area of the cover.

INSPECTION, PACKING, DUSTJACKETS, ETC...

Each book is individually inspected before shipment. If dust jackets are to be wrapped around the book this will be done by hand as a final step before packing.