Book Binding report

July 2016

Binding determines and is determined by the function of the book

as object.
The chosen binding technique will
influence the usability of an art picture book, the affordability of a best
seller, the intuitiveness on an infants book.
Being both a craft older than printing and a highly automated industrial process, not just questions of
aesthetics come into play, but also

Analysing

Organising

Producing

Layouting

Fig. 1 Matthias Hbner, Possible Books

technological. Choosing a binding

technique implies the number of
pages, the type of paper, machinery for cutting, gathering, gluing,
sewing, case making. Whatever
cannot be automated, whatever
needs a hand touch, either is quality, luxury or loss.
1

11

1 Workflow
2 Unrolling

10

3 Digital printing
9

4 Cutting/Folding
8

5 Folding
6 Gathering
7 Buffering

8 Adhesive binding
7
3

9 Drying
10 Trimming

11 Removal

Fig. 2 Muller Martinis Sigma Line

In DRUPA, Muller Martini presented Finishing 4.0: a touchless workflow line-up of nine connected production lines saddle stitching, perfect binding, hardcover production and newspaper inserting segments. Servo motors and optical reading make possible runs of one.

Cutting

On a small conventional bindery

one is most likely to find at least
one cutting machine -- a Guillotine.
The paper first arrives stacked from
the print area. Portions between 8
to 15 cm must travel from the pile
across a counter into the blade
area.
In the first station, the stack is elevated. Afterwards, it is fanned and
is placed in the paper jogger to
re-align any stray sheets; by the
end of this process, the air remaining within the sheets must be extracted. In between stations carrier
modules can be placed air blowing perforated surfaces with rolling
spheres that counter and alleviate
the weight and friction of the stack
portions.
The next station is the cutter itself.
The cutting area includes three elements: the knife bar, the pressure
bar and the backgauge.
Even a not so sophisticated cutter
has nowadays some form of software, from spreadsheet to JDF
automation, the former allowing
the operator to calculate measurements and input cutting sequences, the later receiving job data
directly from the workflow management system. In this control
area, knife and pressure bar
tensions can be adjusted to the
feed. The backgauge can be adjust-

4
5
6

1 Control Panel
2 Knife bar
3 Pressure bar
4 Backgauge
5 Backgauge adjustment
6 cut buttons
7 Pressure bar pedal
8 Jogger

ed manually near the cutting buttons. The later are

connected to security devices and themselves require
both the operators hands. Underneath in the center,
we find the pedal that activates the pressure bar.
This type of trimmer may be used both in makeready
for folding operations and to trim the final product. A
manual operator must mind in the first two cuts the
same allignig edges that were took in printing. It
should cut from larger to small size and make as few
rotations as able.
Unloading may be done again to a pallet.
In an industrial environment, trimmers may be integrated in gathering and stitching equipment. In such
context one may find trilateral trimmers, drum cutters,
and continuous trimmers.

Folding and creasing

During our practicum, folding was

made manually with a bone folder.
We had four sheet signatures (blank
pages, really) so the task was as
simple as folding in half, parallel to
grain.
The bone folder is traditionally
used because it minimizes residues
on the paper. Bamboo is also used,
and nowadays plastic
More complex print products end
up requiring different folding strat-

Buckle stop
Bookbinding sheet
Upper folding roller

Handbook of Print Media

Fig. 7.2-22
Folding principles in

Buckle plates
Lower
folding
roller

Sheet travel

Lower folding roller

a
Roller gap

sheet folding machines.

a Buckle fold principle;
b Knife fold principle

Folding knife
Bookbinding sheet

Lateral sheet guide

Folding rollers
b

egies and, as such require adequate machinery.

In essence, folding is bending a paper in such a way it allows creating an edge. It can be
made lengthwise and crosswise to sheets and webs.
There are two main architectures for sheet folding machines: the buckle fold principle and
the knife fold principle.
The first type of architecture uses length adjustable buckles to define the distance between
margins and edge. When the sheet meets the top of the buckle, it gets caught in the fold
area by two facing rollers that push it within and form, by its pressure, the fold. It can then
move on to another buckle to cross-fold. In each station, the pressure is adjusted to the
quantity of over imposed paper it will process.
In the second type of architecture, the sheet enters the machine aligned and with a defined
position for knife activation (opto-electronics sensor). The knife descends on the sheet in the
Tucker blade
(chopper fold)
3rd fold:
(2nd longitudinal
fold)

Former

2nd fold: jaw fold

(1st right-angle fold)

Delivery

middle of facing rolls that push the

sheet within.
Creasing is also done with a knife
system but with a pair knife shaft,
instead of rollers, underneath.

Delivery

1st fold:
former fold
(1st longitudinal fold)

Parallel fold
(2 right-angle folds)

Fig. 1.6-20
Handbook of print media
fold types

Bookbind Family

case
coils

glued
perfect

spiral

lay flat

wire-O

Stitched
side
stitched

saddle
stitched

sewned
center
sewned

side
sewned

smyth
sewned

stab

other
ring

eyelet

post and
screw

Saddle Stitch

Most common commercial format for less

permanent materials. Versatile regarding
size of sheet and run length. Allows crossovers and gatefolds, self and separate
covers. This format demands a page count
multiple of four and is somewhat limited
regarding weight and thickness of paper
stock. It is also spineless.

pre press:
Creep: this format creates a triangular edge,
for each sheet lays over the thickness of the
previous. The design must be compensated with a formula to determine consistent
margins when trimmed
post press:
1- signatures are gathered in a saddle bar,
from the innermost to the outward cover.
2- the block is carried to the stitching heads
where staples are driven through the spine
fold
3- nonbinding edges are trimmed

Wire stitching
Individual wire stitchers and wire
stitching heads in a gatherer stitcher perform the exact same tasks: cut
the wire feeded from the spool into
staple size, for the staple -- regular
or loop -- and push it through the
binding margin.
Underneath a staple plate is responsible for closing the staple arms.

Pamphlet stitch

Simplest stitching technique. Three to five

holes allow the attachment of the signature to the cover with thread.

1
fold cover and sheets
with the bone folder

2
pierce all elements
equally
gather saddled

start sewing from inside

trim the knot.

out through central hole

adjust line tension and

To have the knot outside,

and back in through top

sew from top to bottom

return inside through the

produce a knot embrac-

simply start in the

hole.

hole, towards the outside

central hole

ing the long centre sticht

opposite direction.

Perfect bound

This is an adhesive binding process that

consists in trimming and roughing the
spine edge and gluing the sheet block to
the cover with hot melt glue. It became a
staple in cheap production in the 20s, for
paperback, magazines and directories.
Perfect binding avoids creep and allows a
printable spine. Also, it adds commodity in
stacking and transport.
It usually only allows binding with a page
count over 16, yet that depends on the
paper caliper.

process:
1- Folded signatures or single leaves must
be neatly stacked in page order.
2- The spine side is trimmed to remove
folded edges .
3- The spine is roughed up with a saw. The
exposed paper fibers will increase the
bonding area with the glue.
4- The book block is impregnated with a
strong, yet flexible glue and pressed onto
the cover. The cover may have a hinge
score to hide the glue where the binding
adhesive stops.

Hot melt
Polyurethane reactive (PUR) is widespread in this technique, although
more costly than the traditional ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). PUR is
stronger, more flexible and more
prone to lay flat. It tolerates more
inks and coatings and allows thinner books.

Tape Bound

In tape binding the sheets are glued to a

cap or tape, in such a way the book pages
move independently from the spine and
thus, can arch, allowing the block to lay flat.

process:
1- Gather block and two separated cover
sheets (no spine).
2- The paper is fanned, first forward and
then backward in a binding aparat. In each
direction glue is applied.
3- The block is compressed and let to dry.
4- A crease is made in the covers, immediately after the length of the tape.
5- The block is glued to the covers within
the distance between spine and crease.
6- The the tape is glued over spine and the
cover.

stack and crease

glue spine

glue cover to block

glue tape over spine

Lay flat

The lay flat paperback combines perfect

binding and tape binding. It appears as a
brochure, but the tape allows the spine to
modulate.

process:
1- Gather, glue and press block.
2- Prepare cover with 6 creases: the central
2 in the width of the spine, the next in the
width of the tape, and the next as allowance for the gluing.
3- Apply the tape to the block.
4- Apply glue between the most outward
scorch and the middle scorch of the cover.
5- Conjoin cover and block and repeat for
the other side.

spine

tape

glue

tape binded block

spread view

cover creasing model

Wire-O

Also called double-loop. Uses preformed

wire loops that run down the spine. Unlike
spirals, wire O doesnt jog up pages, so it
can be used for crossover images. Allow
thick formats.
Its prone to a flexible design, for it allows a
diversity of sheet weights and paper materials, sizes, single sheet or signature, foldouts, tabs and bind-Ins.
Books can be bound with or without a
spine, in split back without semi concealed, with the wire visible on the back,
and concealed, with a gatefold cover.
Wires are available in many colors.

process:
1- Gather block and covers.
2- Prepare the punching machine with the
proper pin sizes and block dimensions.
3- open the wire-o in the gathering hook.
4- Punch from back cover first, then face it
with the cover, and proceed from first to
last page, while transferring from puncher
to the wire-O.
6- Remove the whole block from the hook
to the pressure area and close the wire-O.
7- Trim the wire and turn the back cover

case bound wire O

wire O machine

Case

Case binding -- hardcover --is the most

costly type of automated binding but also
the most durable and luxurious.
The case is usually a cardboard sheet that
can be covered either with paper, cloth,
leather or other type of substrate.
Cases can be classified as round, flat
backed and soft spine

1 Signatures
2 tape

3 End Sheet
4 Cover Board
5 Headband

3
4

Soft spine

gather block

Prepare the cover cloth.

glue end sheets to the

and end sheets

Apply glue from center

outer cardboards

to margins

of the cover, leaving the

spine loose.

2
Apply glue
to block and endsheets;
Apply tape and press
to dry
5
place the cardboards in
the proper places and cut
the corners

3
Glue headbands, the
head one holding the
ribbon and trim them .

6
fold the first edge and
use the bone folder to
ruffle and tuck
the corner.
Proceed equally with the
next sides and corners.