Have you ever picked up a commercial paperback? This means you have gone through the perfect bound book.
One of the most common binding methods used in soft-cover book bindings. Using this method, the pages and cover are glued together at the spine with a strong thermal glue. The other three corners of the book are trimmed to give them a clean look. A bookstore will have different categories of perfect-bound books. The cover is made of paper or card sheet that is heavier than the main content pages. Additionally, the cover is coated which provides more durability and enhances its appearance.
As it gives a professional appearance at a lower cost, businesses and organizations use this method in printing projects. In this blog, we will discover the answer to what perfect binding mean and all the details related to this method from basic to advanced. So let’s dig in.
Merits of Using Perfect Binding
The first step to finding the answer to what perfect binding mean is to know its benefits. Different reasons make this binding method worthwhile.
Affordable
As the method is cost-effective, it makes it the best choice by the majority. Apart from being affordable compared with the hardcover binding technique, it can be used on smaller print runs. This opens the opportunities for the users to produce high-quality printed goods while staying within the budget frame. Although the initial cost is a pretty penny it will end up paying a lot in the long term.
Fast
Soft-cover bookbinding or perfect binding is faster than traditional sewing and reduces production time. This means that you can spend more time on important tasks such as asking the clients’ queries or responding to emails. Choosing the manual binding it takes time to bind one book. If you are in high demand, you can check out industrial-size binders that can serve you the best quality in a minimum time.
Clean and neat
Perfect-bound books look nice on the bookshelves and give a professional and aesthetic look. This is visually appealing as it allows the books to look the same and gives a neat look as they are displayed. When you are looking for a perfect binding, you can get ideas from services like envelope printing or book printing. They will guide you to give your bind content a professional look.
Easy to customize
The soft-cover binding technique uses a square spinal edge. This makes it easy to print the book’s title or other information on the spine. This is the best technique as the cover of the book can be customized according to the need without any additional equipment or people.
Demerits of Perfect Binding
Although perfect binding is commonly used by many paperback books, it is not a perfect choice for everything. To get the answer to the core question, of what perfect binding mean, we need to know some of the disadvantages. There are demerits of this technique despite the benefits.
Cover is thinner
The covers of the popular perfect-bound books are flexible and can be easily bent. However, they are thinner than the hardcover options. This allows the cover to lose its form with time because of the design of the paper.
Extra attention to pictures
When perfect binding is used, extra attention is needed. There are chances that some design space will be lost. Therefore, pictures need to be placed with full focus in the softcover books. This space is located inside the margin of the books and is known as gutter space. Books like recipe books, instructional manuals, and calendars are not ideal to be bonded using this technique. You can ask for help from services like collate printing or printing services near you. Narrate them your requirements and they will make sure that your content and picture are properly aligned.
Difficulty to lie flat
One of the biggest demerits of perfect binding is that it cannot lie flat. This makes hand-free reading difficult. When you try to lay the book page flat, this is not possible in the spine compared with a saddle-stitch book. The glue loses its strength and the pages come apart after repeated reading or efforts to flatten the book.
Process of Perfect Binding
The perfect binding follows three basic steps:
Creating the book block
To create the book block, collect all the pages at the spine and fasten them using a clamp. Trim through the spine edges using a guillotine, manual knife, or a blade. The book is ready for the gluing phase. At this stage, you can get help from services like printing and binding services or binding services nearby. They will guide you through their expertise. One of the tips by experts is that we should use a ream cutter or guillotine to square up the book blocks with a thicker spine.
Apply glue
It is time to apply adhesive. PVA is the strongest adhesive that is used in bookbinding. It is known for its strength and durability with drying clear and flexible. PVA is the best choice for hobby bookmakers but if you don’t have a PVA you can use Elmer’s glue. It is a safe option.
With the book still clamped at the spine, start the adhesive process using a paste brush. You should start from the middle moving to the outer edge and spreading the glue evenly. After you have applied the first coat, let it dry for some time. Then add more coats to give it a thickness.
Some of the tips from the experts state that using vice grips and metal clamps is great for holding the book block in place. Additionally, if you look to save time, you should keep a small fan near you. This will help in drying the glue quickly.
Attach the cover
Once, the final layer of the glue is applied, place the cover. The perfect binding covers are made of heavier card stock or paper. They do sometimes have a satin or glossy texture on one side. Apply the cover and press it down against the still-wet glue of the book block. After a short time remove the clamps. Fold at the pre-scored lines to allow the front and back cover to fall in place. You can use a book press or apply manual pressure. This will make sure that the cover dries flat in position. If you fail to apply enough pressure, the cover may flap open like bird wings.
When is Perfect Binding Used?
Being the affordable option, it is common among print and finishing shops whether small or big. The perfect binding machinery comprises anything from inexpensive tabletop devices to large, expensive systems. The popularity of on-demand bookbinding has increased the demand for low-cost machines with the capabilities of high-production machines. This binding technique is a wonderful way for a wide range of publications that include catalogs, paperback books, and magazines.
What is the process of perfect binding?
The perfect binding process includes gluing the spine and trimming the open sides of the book to give it a neat and professional look.
What is the best example of a perfect binding?
Most of the soft-cover books that are seen on the bookshelves are the model examples of the perfect-bound books. These books have a square, printed spine, and the cover is made from paper or cardstock that is thicker than the interior paper.
What is one of the biggest advantages of perfect binding?
One of the edges of this technique is its affordability.
What is the disadvantage of perfect binding?
Along with the advantages, one of the disadvantages of perfect binding is its flexibility through which the covers can easily bent.
The final comment
The answer to the question, “What perfect binding mean is clear. Perfect binding is one of the most popular binding techniques. The process is simple and affordable. You just need to glue the pages together at the spine and then attach them to the cover.
As a result, you receive professional, polished finish paperback books, magazines, and catalogs. As it is durable and cost-effective, it is ideal for high-volume printing and often chosen when we need a sleek and modern look.