Ten Practical Tips for Your Book Binding Project

Are you an author, self publisher, artist, or photographer producing
your first book? Here’s a few tips to help obtain a desirable result.

1. Consult your bindery contact person early in the process.
You may have spent years writing, drawing, painting or taking pictures.
Don’t wait until the very end to find out how your book will be finished.
If the process allows for it, have a bound proof sample sent before producing
the entire job. This helps avoid any surprises.

2. Discuss what requirements will be needed for gutter margins.
Different methods of binding will have different margin requirements.
Smyth sewn books allow for more openability vs a perfect bound or side sewn book.
Make sure the supplied page size you are sending will work for the bindery.

3. Consider the paper choice carefully. Coated papers come in gloss or matte
(also sometimes referred to as dull or silk). Each paper will reproduce photos
differently and may have implications on how they will be bound. Glossy paper
will bulk differently than matte or uncoated papers.

4. Grain direction of the paper should always run parallel to the spine edge. Make sure
your printer plans this accordingly.

5. If you are providing the bindery with collated book blocks, make sure there is a
brightlly colored slip sheet divider between each set of books. A plain white
divider, or no divider at all really makes the bindery’s job more confusing than
it should be.

6. Establish a reasonable schedule. Book signings, trade shows, Open House events, etc.
should all be planned to happen AFTER you recieve the books. Asking a bindery to
rush a job can lead to possible problems.

7. Consider special features for your book such as cover cloth choices, Head and Tail Bands,
rounding and backing, foil stamping, or a dust jacket. Make sure the artwork you supply
for a stamping die is in the proper format your bindery needs.

8. If you are producing a soft cover book, determine if you should have the cover laminated.
If you are selling the book, you should have the cover laminated. Houchen Bindery offers
film lamination in gloss, matte and also a linen finish.

9. What about packaging options? Such as individual shrinkwrapping or interior slip sheeting,
(any book that has foil stamping should either have a jacket around it or be slip sheeted
so that the foil stamping will not rub off onto the other books during shipping). How about
individual mailing boxes?

10. Call me at Houchen Bindery Ltd! 1-800-869-0420. We produce a wide array of editons in short run lengths
and utilize many methods of binding including Smyth Sewn, Side Sewn, Perfect Bound, Double
Fan adhesive bound, Oversewn, PUR adhesive perfect binding and more. Email me at mpugh@houchenbindery.com