Allied Bindery

Bound for Excellence

Archives for December 2011

Cross Grain Covers – Are You Saving Money or Creating a Headache?

Depending upon the final trim size of a binding project and the sheet size capacity of the printing press, printers often make decisions to use a cross grain sheet when printing covers for a stitching or binding project.  Although this decision may save on the cost of paper, it may also create several cosmetic or functional issues that may lead to additional downstream costs.  Several things should be considered before deciding to print a cross grain cover.

Spine and Hinge Score cracking is a common complaint when cross grain covers are used.  If the cover design requires full ink or dark ink coverage, cracking along the spine or hinge score becomes highly visible and can be viewed as an objectionable cosmetic defect by the customer.  The best opportunity to minimize this type of problem is to die score the spine and hinge score areas of the cover.  A die score is a superior choice to the wheel score that may be provided by a perfect binder or saddle stitcher cover feeder.  The die score, however, increases the cost of the project and may offset any savings generated by the use of a cross grain sheet.  Additionally, if the requirement to die score is not identified until after the cover has been shipped to the Bindery, both the additional cost and additional processing time will be unexpected.

Cross grained covers applied to a perfect bound book will likely result in a series of waves along the length of the spine.  Once the cover is adhered to the body of the book, any moisture that may be absorbed by the cover stock can expand the paper grain.  Since the cover will be held in place by adhesive along the spine, waviness will often be created as relative humidity is absorbed into the cover stock.  Although the book remains functional, this cosmetic imperfection may leave a customer dissatisfied with the end result.

Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery can help you avoid problems such as recognizing or avoiding potential problems with cross grain covers.  Give us a call and let us help you achieve your customer’s expectations.

The Advantages of Split Binding

 Often times, your project may have multiple end uses. As such, there are occasions when one specific binding style may not fit all of your  requirements. For instance, a perfect bound sports media guide may be the desired binding style for the fans in the stands.  However, a sportscaster or reporter may require a binding style that opens and lies perfectly flat without being held in place. Similarly, a perfect bound book may work well for a student, however, the instructor may want a version in which specific sections may be removed and/or updated over time. When your project
requires a range of use such as these examples, a split binding production approach can be used to solve the challenge.

 Simply stated, split binding is the utilization of two or more binding methods to achieve the end use requirements of your customers. In the example of the sports media guide, combining perfect binding and a mechanical binding technology such as coil binding, addresses the needs of both end user groups.  In the case of the educational media or text book, combining a perfect bind design for the student, with a loose leaf option for the instructor achieves the use requirements for both.

Understanding the end use requirements of your customer, in combination with the finishing capabilities of your trade bindery, may allow you to offer multiple binding options that achieve separate and distinct requirements of the end users.

Allied Bindery routinely produces projects that require a combination of perfect binding and mechanical binding, or perfect binding and loose leaf options.   Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery can help you determine the binding options that will work best for your customer’s requirements.

Planning for Layflat Perfect Bound Books

Your customer has just requested a perfect bound book with enhanced capabilities to lie flat when opened.  You check your list of trade
bindery service providers and see that some of them promote the ability to
produce Layflat Binding (or Stayflat or Otabind).  Problem solved, right?

Not necessarily.  There are several critical planning steps that must be considered during the design and prepress stages of the project that ultimately determine the cosmetic and functional success or failure of the book.

A successful Layflat binding style is accomplished by building the book so that the spine of the book block is not attached to the spine of the book cover as with a standard perfect bound product.  The Layflat book block must first be adhered to a fabric liner rather than a book cover.  The bound book block will then be attached to the cover between a pair of hinge scores specifically placed on the front and back cover.  This design allows the spine
of the book cover to separate from the book block when the book is opened,
allowing the spine of the book block to float above the book cover.  This design reduces resistance and allows for an enhanced Layflat characteristic when the book is opened.

In order to build a successful Layflat product, design and prepress planning must incorporate specific requirements for hinge scores, graphics and text placement on the covers and interior text pages.  Design requirements must also provide consideration for cross alignments, page borders, and if necessary, drill hole placement.  Failure to plan for these critical characteristics will result in an unhappy customer.

The Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery are prepared to assist you with the critical planning requirements for Layflat Binding.
Give us a call and let us show you how we can help ensure a successful
project for you.