BINDING STYLES FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK PRINTING at Ex Why Zed

In this showcase snippet video we take a look at the three different binding choices when we come to print your children’s book at Ex Why Zed.

The key thing to remember is that the binding method you choose is dictated by the number of pages your publication has.

Let’s get started!

First up is wire stitching or stapling if you prefer less print jargon. The printed sheets are produced as spreads then folded in half and stapled twice on the spine to keep them together. Simple, cheap and effective for up to around 40 pages. It might be visually as high end as our next two options but the advantage is that the reader can press the pages completely flat which is a BIG advantage for kids books and bedtime reading. You need to settle on a multiple of four pages for wire stitching so 20,24,28 for example…in case you don’t have a calculator handy :)

Next up is perfect binding where we print the cover as a spread with a separate text block. The text block is trimmed to the size of your finished book, roughened up on the left hand edge, a layer of glue applied and the cover is wrapped around and glued on with a 7mm hinge to the text block. Your books will have a neat spine if you have a minimum of 32 pages. A lot of books in the children’s sector are exactly 32 pages so choose 170gsm silk, gloss or uncoated for the inside pages and that will just about get us to the 3mm thickness we need to glue the spine. Under 170gsm will be too thin. You can see that it is slightly harder to press the pages down, more so the nearer to 32 pages you are because the spine is tighter. So, don’t rule out staple binding completely if it’s super important that the reader sees the whole of the double-page spread.

Finally, we move on to case binding and hardback books. Arguably the most professional looking of the three, we use thick 3mm board for the front cover, back cover and spine which is wrapped by your choice of either printed artwork or book binding cloth. End papers, in this instance these glorious leaves, are added to bind the cover block to the inside pages. The text block sits neatly inside the overhanging 3mm cover. Again, by pressing down the pages slightly you can view the whole spread. Something to bear in mind with your layouts - let’s keep important content like text or crucial imagery a good 8mm away from the spine side.

Looking at the side profiles gives you a great insight into the three different binding aesthetics. They each have their own characteristics, pros and cons.

Which will you go for on your next project?

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