This video shows just some of the steps that go into the making of our short-run hardcovers. Bonus: The soundtrack is our own Bindery Supervisor, Tony Houle, and his band!
Short Run Hardcovers
Bookmobile offers superior quality short-run hardcover binding. Books are perfect bound and cased in for library-quality durability and readability. Standard hardcover bindings are available in four sizes: 5-½″ x 8-½″; 6″ x 9″; 7″ x 10″; and 8-½″ x 11″.
We welcome odd trim sizes, portrait or landscape, up to 12″ x 12″.
Standard features include:
- End sheets in natural, white, custom color, or printed.
- Square spines.
- Foil stamps on spine, front, or back (size specified by client).
- Dust jackets with gloss or matte lamination.
- 4-color case wraps.
What’s Happening in the Video
1.) Making Printed Cases
The first segment shows Mischy and Coryn making a printed case. You can see the measured and trimmed board being added for the spine, front cover, and back cover, then the folding of the edges over the board.
The thickness of the board is determined by the trim size of the book. We use the following:
- .079″ = trim size up to 6″ x 9″
- .098″ = up to 8-½” x 11″
- .120″ = larger than 8-½” x 11″
We can also custom order a .150″ board upon request.
2.) Casing In
The next segment shows Vicki casing in the books. Books are perfect bound with their end sheets, with headbands applied, before we case them in. After they’re cased in, Brenda crimps the spine on our “crusher.” Next, you see Brenda putting together printed endsheets.
3.) Foil Stamping
And last is Vicki foil stamping a gold spine of a Rainbow cardinal red case. We offer a lot of options with our foil stamps, and you read more about what’s available at Guidelines and Recommendations for Stamping, Embossing, and Debossing.
This video didn’t quite cover all the steps we take to produce a hardcover! Our hardcover department works fast and we missed out on finishing the corners with a bone folder while making a case, adding headbands, folding dust jackets, die cutting, and more.
Any questions? Would you like to see more videos? Let me know!