Whether you're designing a brochure, softcover book or annual report, adhesive binding is an attractive, efficient solution. Here are a few tips for planning adhesive binding jobs:
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| Perfect bound books can also include tabs, as shown in the signature above. To avoid being removed during the final trim, the tabs must be folded short of the face and can be folded out by the end-user. The distance the tabs are folded is staggered to prevent bulking. |
Trap Your Glue - For best results on perfect binding covers, include a "glue trap" in your layout. The glue trap, which should extend at least 1/4" beyond the project's foot trim, will catch excess glue during the perfect binding process. Glue can string out or seep onto machine parts or other product, which can delay production.
Plan for Crossovers - When planning crossover images in perfect bound projects, extend copy 1/4" past the page into the spine area. This "duplicated" image will be lost during the grind-off, but will help finishers bind the book so the crossover flows seamlessly.
Create a Dummy - A bulking dummy-or a mock-up of the finished piece-can help finishers not only pinpoint potential binding problems; it can help determine eventual trim and spine specifications. Determining correct spine thickness is critical for covers that require die or channel scoring. Because "live" material is always more useful than blank stock, pull a copy from a print run for this useful post press tool.
Planning Tip: Grain direction is important in all perfect binding styles. Whenever possible, keep paper grain running parallel to your spine. Adhesive bound books with grain running perpendicular to the spine are vulnerable to spine cracking, poor page pull strength, and produce a weaker overall product.
Production Tip: When producing perfect bound books on coverstock, plan to step-score score the text leaves starting from the hinge score. This will enable the book to turn on the hinge score and lay open, similar to an open clam shell. Check with your finisher to determine appropriate distances between steps.
