Bookbinding

Skill Level 3

Much of the material in this book was drawn from Wikipeida, the Free Encylopedia.

Be able to identify the following terms:

Perfect binding A paperback or soft cover book consists of a number of signatures or individual leaves between covers of much heavier paper, glued together at the spine with a strong flexible glue; this is sometimes called perfect binding. Mass market paperbacks and pulp paperbacks are small (16mo size), cheaply made and often fall apart after much handling or several years.
Hard bound A hardbound or hard cover book has rigid covers and is stitched in the spine. Looking from the top of the spine, the book can be seen to consist of a number of signatures bound together. When the book is opened in the middle of a signature, the binding threads are visible. Modern hardcover books are typically of octavo size, though they are often smaller or larger.
Single signature A single signature binding is one in which only one signature and the cover are sewn together at the spine.
Spiral (metal and plastic) A spiral-bound book is made of individual sheets, each with a line of holes punched near the bound edge. A metal or plastic spiral wire is fed through the holes to hold the sheets together. Spiral binding allows a book to be disassembled and reassembled by hand without damage.
Saddle stitch Stapling through the center fold, also called saddle-stitching, joins a set of nested folios into a single magazine issue. Most American comic books fall into this category.