Bookbinding is the process of putting the pages of a book between covers. Binding holds books together and protects them from wear and tear. It also makes them attractive and easy to use. Bindings range from elaborate, hand-tooled leather to paper. Today, machines bind most books, but some are bound by hand.
Books are either hardbound or softbound. Most hardbound books have a cover made of heavy paper boards. The boards are covered with cloth, leather, plastic, or a combination of these materials. Most softbound books have paper bindings.
How books are bound by machine
Machine bookbinding consists of three main operations: (1) forming, (2) shaping, and (3) covering.
Forming a book.
In the first four basic steps of bookbinding, a book is put together in consecutive pages. These steps are (1) folding, (2) tipping, (3) gathering, and (4) sewing.
Folding.
Books are not printed one page at a time. Some pages come from the printing press as part of a pile of large, flat sheets of paper. Each side of each sheet usually consists of 2 to 32 different pages of the book that is being printed. The sheet is then fed through a folding machine, where a series of rollers or blades fold it several times. The sheet comes from the machine as a signature (folded section of a book). The pages of the signature are in the correct order.
Tipping
is a method of pasting separate, specially printed pages into a book. A loose page may be put in just before or just after a signature by a tipping machine. The machine pastes the loose page along the rear edge of the first or last page of the signature. Tipping by hand is sometimes used to add a separate page in its proper place within a signature. In some books, however, a separate page is simply inserted into a signature without paste. All the pages, including the loose one, are later sewed to one another through their edges.
Tipping machines also paste endsheets (folded sheets of heavy paper) to the outside pages of some books. In other books, the endsheets form separate signatures that are sewed into place.
Gathering.
The signatures of a book are assembled in a gathering machine. The signatures are put in consecutive order in a long row of bins on the machine. A chain conveyor passes under the bins. The signatures drop onto the conveyor, one on top of another, until all the signatures of the book have passed the last bin.
The signatures are collated (checked) to make sure they have been gathered in the right order. In many books, a small black mark, called a collating mark, is printed on the folded edge of each signature to make collating easier. The marks form a diagonal line across the backs of the signatures when they are gathered. A broken line indicates that the signatures are not in the correct order. An inspector can then stop the machine to correct the error.
Sewing.
There are two chief methods of sewing books, Smyth sewing and side sewing. Both methods use strong cotton or nylon thread. Smyth sewing produces a sturdy binding with a rounded back that allows a book to be opened relatively flat. Side sewing is much stronger. It is used for textbooks and other books that receive extra handling.
In a Smyth-sewing machine, a series of needles and hooks pulls threads through the center fold of each signature. In this way, the machine sews each signature to the next with a series of continuous threads. At the same time, the pages of each signature are sewn together.
In side sewing, all the signatures are stapled together as the book leaves the gathering machine. A side-sewing machine then drills a series of holes through the sides of the book near the spine or back (the part of a book that faces out from a shelf). A single needle sews the signatures together from front to back through these holes.
An increasing number of hardbound books and a majority of softbound books are not sewed at all. Most are perfect bound. In this process, a machine cuts off the folds of the signatures at the spine. It then roughens the smooth binding edge produced by the trimming and applies a coat of adhesive to it. If the book is to be hardbound, the machine attaches endsheets to the front and back. A separate machine then applies the hard cover, called the case. With softbound books, the binding machine pastes a paper cover to the binding edge.
Many softbound books that have fewer than 80 pages are bound with wire stitches. In one form of wire stitching, called saddle stitching, signatures are dropped, one over the other, on a saddle stitcher, which drives wire staples through the spine. Side wire stitching involves gathering the signatures, one on top of the other, and driving wire staples through the entire book.
Shaping a book
consists of four chief steps: (1) smashing; (2) gluing-off; (3) trimming; and (4) rounding, backing, and lining.
Smashing.
Smyth sewing makes many books bulge along the spine. A smashing machine compresses books between two steel blocks and gives each book a uniform thickness.
Gluing-off.
After smashing, most Smyth-sewed books go through a gluing-off machine, which applies glue to the spine. The glue keeps the threads from unraveling and holds the signatures together.
Trimming.
The uneven and folded edges on the three unsewed sides of the book must be cut off. A book trimmer, a machine with razor-sharp knives, cuts off the top, front, and bottom edges. The book comes from the trimming machine in its final size. Some books have a decorative coating of gold leaf or gold foil along the top edge or along all three edges. A machine applies this gilding after the trimming process.
Rounding, backing, and lining
are usually performed by a single machine. First, the machine molds the spine of the book into a rounded shape. Next, it backs the book by making a shoulder (hinge) on each side of the spine. These shoulders allow the book to fit snugly in its cover and to open easily. Finally, the machine glues a strip of paper or gauze, called the lining, to the spine. Many books have decorated pieces of colored cloth called headbands at the top and bottom of their spines. Headbands are usually applied to the lining before it is placed on the book. On most Smyth-sewed books, the machine glues a strip of reinforcing mesh fabric, called a super, to the spine.
Covering a book.
The binding process is completed with the steps of (1) casemaking, (2) stamping, and (3) casing-in.
Casemaking.
The case is usually made separately, in time to be ready for casing-in. Sheets of heavy paper are fed into a cutting machine that trims them to the desired size. The cover boards are then placed in a casemaking machine. Precut pieces of cloth or another cover material are fed into this machine. Each piece of material receives a coat of glue on its inner side. As the piece moves through the machine, two cover boards are automatically placed on the glued surface. Heavy paper liners for the spine are placed between the boards. Rollers turn the cover material over the boards, gluing it into place.
Stamping.
There are several ways of stamping titles and decorations on book covers. They include embossing; inking; and using foil made of various metals. Another method uses cloth that has been printed before it becomes a book cover.
Casing-in.
A casing-in machine joins the book to its cover. This machine applies a coat of paste to the endsheets and also to the extending super, if the book has one. The machine places the book body within the covers and presses the pasted endsheets to them.
After casing-in, the paste is still wet. To make sure that the endsheets stick to the cover boards, the book is pressed. A building-in machine, also called a joint former, presses the book and forms grooved joints or hinges for the cover boards near the spine. The joints enable the book to be opened easily.
How books are bound by hand
Books are bound by hand for limited or special editions. Most hand-bound books are sturdier than machine-bound books, and many are works of art prized for their distinctive covers. Hand bookbinding is much slower and more expensive than machine bookbinding.
Hand bookbinding has changed little since the 1400’s. A craftworker stretches several cords or bands of material to form the spine. The signatures are sewed to these cords or bands, which are in turn sewed into the cover boards. The bookbinder stitches on the headbands and covers the boards with fine leather. Words and decorations are etched on the leather.
See also Book; Islamic art (Books).
