What is perfect binding?
Perfect binding is a popular binding method frequently used for paperback/softcover books, magazines, and catalogs. Perfect bound books use melted EVA glue to bind the book guts with the covers. Today I’m going to be talking about the perfect binding process, and the kinds of applications perfect bound books are most typically used for.
Equipment needed for perfect binding
When UK Book Binders prepares to perfect bind a book, they need the following equipment:
A stack of book guts, uncut
A stack of book covers
Creasing machine or scoring machine (for the covers)
Perfect binding machine
Guillotine cutter (for the 3-knife trim after binding)
The printing for perfect binding is pretty straightforward—you need a set of guts (the interior sheets), as well as covers that have a spine designed for it. Note: perfect bound books require spines to be designed; other popular binding techniques like saddle-stitching, spiral binding, and wire-o binding do not require a spine to be designed and printed.
Step 1: Crease the hinges of the cover
Before binding the books, the covers need to have their hinges prepared for folding. If the perfect-bound book covers are not prepared, the covers will be crack-prone and will not bend in a consistent manner. This process creates the hinges on the front and back covers of the book.
The difference between creasing and scoring covers is that creasing is done by knocking an indentation into the cardstock covers with a wedge. Scored covers, on the other hand, use a process that is a bit like a pizza slicer—a rotating disk is used to indent the sheet of paper.
Step 2: Perfect bind the covers and guts of the book
Then there is the bind: the perfect binding process uses a perfect binding machine to bind the covers to the book. The machine itself first grinds down the binding edge of the book to help the glue get a better grip on the books. Then, it applies the glue onto the leaves (i.e. unbound sheets of paper) of the guts. And lastly, the perfect binding machine applies the cover onto the guts and clamps down for a brief moment.
Step 3: The 3-knife Trim
The last part of the process is known as the 3-knife trim. Up until now, the guts and the covers have been done on larger sheets of paper. Perfect binding is done on larger sheets of paper and then trimmed down so that the final cuts make the books crisply clean on all the edges—no unevenness and no excess glue.
This process is called a 3-knife trim because there are 3 cuts to be made: the top cut, the bottom cut, and the face cut. The face cut cuts off the side that is opposite of the binding edge. Basically, UK Book Binders will cut all 3 sides other than the binding edge.
Perfect binding tip: Shrink-wrap your books before shipping
While we as standard carton pack all our jobs in DOUBLE wall cartons, another great option is shrink-wrapping your perfect bound book before shipping protects the covers from getting damaged and scratched. Keeping the booking in small shrink-wrapped packages keeps the books from moving around during the shipping process.
Are you ready to order your perfect bound books?
Here at UK Book Binders, we have several machines for all ranges of perfect binding specifications, give us a call on 01934 630 950 or drop our Estimating department an email at sam@ukbookbinders.com