Book work

Please read the information below regarding the supply of all digital artwork to Newstyle Printing for any book work jobs. The following specifications should act as a guide for anyone creating or sending files ready for print. Any deviation from these guidelines could result in extra costs and possible time delays at the repro stage of any job.

The three main binding methods for book work are Saddle Stitched, Perfect/Burst Bound and Section Sewn. Extra considerations need to be made when setting up any artwork that uses these binding methods. Below is a brief explanation of each method, explaining why you would choose one method over the other and the key points to condsider when creating digital artwork. Newstyle can suggest the correct point at which to shift from saddle-stitching to perfect binding, based on your paper stock, and we can even provide a paper dummy of both options. This way you can see what the final product will look like before you commit to saddle-stitching or perfect binding.

 

Saddle Stitched Books

A Saddle Stitched book is fastened using wire staples. Several sheets of paper are folded (the fold becomes the spine of the booklet) and two or more staples are placed in the fold. This is the most common method of binding used for most small to medium sized books using standard thickness paper.

The following points should be considered on any Saddle Stitched jobs:

  • Creep Allowance. In a Saddle Stitched booklet the bulk of the paper causes the inner pages to extend further out than the outer pages when folded. When trimmed the inner pages are narrower than the outer pages. The pages become progressively shorter in width as you progress towards the centre of the book. The amount of creep varies depending on the thickness of the paper and the number of pages. If there is no creep allowance, when pages are trimmed the outer margins become narrower toward the centre of the booklet and there is the possibility that text or images may be cut off.

  • Always supply native artwork so that adjustments can be made to allow for possible problems with creep. Newstyle will adjust any artwork that requires any creep allowance. Any jobs containing match-ups/crossovers require the movement of individual items rather than the whole page so the supply of the native artwork is vital.
  • Newstyle will produce any proofs for booklets with the creep already adjusted. Where possible, mark any alterations on the proof for Newstyle to make the change to ensure that the correct creep allowance is still used. If this is not possible, supply any corrected artwork in the native format. Replacement pages as PDFs should only be supplied if there are no match-ups in the book.

 

Bound Books

A Perfect Bound book is fastened together by glueing the pages together at the spine. The sections are gathered, one on top of another; then flexible adhesive is applied to the backbone after the folds along the spine are ground off. After the glue cools, the book is trimmed on 3 sides to its specific size. This method of binding is more commonly used for booklets containg a higher number of pages and or which use thicker paper.

The following points should be considered on any Bound jobs:

  • Spine Width. The spine on a bound job will change in width depending on the number of pages and the weight of the paper. This means the cover will vary from job to job so the design of the cover may also be effected. Newstyle can produce a dummy for bound jobs on request and advise on the spine width.

  • There needs to be sufficient space on the inner edge of the booklet to allow for the binding near the spine. Any critical image like text must start at least 10mm in from the centre of the book or it will be lost when the book is bound. This can impact on double page lineups.

  • Drilling. Allow 10mm on the inner edge of a booklet that requires drilling.

  • Wirobind. Allow 8 - 10mm for any job that is wirobound.

 

Section Sewn Books

Working similarly to a bound book where the sections are gathered, one on top of another, in a Section Sewn book the pages are physically sewn into the book using binders thread and are further reinforced with fabric backing and adhesive to create a more usable and durable book. This binding method is used for large books for added strength when opening and closing books regularly. They commonly use a case bound cover (a hard cover with a printed sheet laminated to it) but can also have a board limp cover and end papers are often included.

Section Sewn books can be opened up almost to the spine thus the printable image can extend a lot further towards the spine. Although a more expensive option, this method of binding will produce the optimum result and is commonly used for art books, special releases and most high end productions.