Perfect binding
The perfect bound book or manual is often seen as the most 'professional' of the binding techniques as it offers the best looking finish.
What is perfect binding?
The printed and folded signatures are first gathered together. The cover is scored to the thickness of the spine, creating a channel or groove for the gathered signatures. Often, an additional score is placed on either or both the front and back covers to act as a hinge to help prevent stress at the binding every time the cover is opened and to allow glue to creep over the edge.
The gathered signatures are pressed together and the bind edge is ground to expose the paper's fibers, hot glue is applied to the roughened edge, and then the cover is joined to the signatures and clamped until dry. The bound books are then trimmed on three sides and finished.
When to use perfect binding?
A perfect bound book is ideal for higher value products such as books, manuals and high-quality magazines with between 20 and 200+ pages.