Book binding options impact the usability and functionality of a book.
Book binding options are not discussed as often as they should be. It is more than deciding if you are going to publish a hardcover book or a soft cover book. At Star Print Brokers, we not only have many options, but we are the primary option if selecting a book printer over a print on demand or book packaging service. Let us help you select the best binding for your books.
Book binding options, the usual and unusual …
Smyth sewing for Hardcover Books
Here are summaries of the three basic Smyth sewn book binding options for case bound, hardcover books, in order of tightness from most to least:
- Tight Square Back: text block is adhered tightly to the spine, least flexibility, will not lay flat, usually not suitable for books with many spread images.
- Hollow Square Back: text block is not adhered to the spine, medium flexibility depending upon format and page count of the book, lays flat, excellent for showing off spread images as in coffee table books, art books and photography books.
- Round Back: text block is not adhered to the spine, extremely flexible, but somewhat loose depending upon page count, lays very flat, excellent for showing off spread images, great for cookbooks & some textbooks.
Smyth sewing for Soft Cover Books
We routinely offer Smyth sewn paperback books. It is a must for higher page count books.
The usual book binding options …
More usual bindings include Wire-O, comb binding, coil binding, and spiral binding. We also print childrens board books. Not only do we offer more book binding options, we also offer options for printing and binding embellishments. See a semi-concealed softcover Wire-O with French flaps.
Which publishing service is best for you?
Star Print Brokers is a hybrid
We have many years of expert experience in books — including color reproduction, offset book printing, book binding options, book design — and offer a vast number of options as compared to other brokers or printers. Star Print Brokers knows logistics, transportation, clearing customs for you, and suggests a plan that other authors have used to sell many more books.
We are book printing brokers, but charge no more for our service than quality book printers charge, because we get volume discounts. But, here’s the real deal. We select only the best printers that also have high-quality book binding options. We work with a handful of printers … the best, but still monitor each job closely. If we start to see any problems at all, we take a break from that printers, or simply never use them again.
Contrast this to working with one rep at one printer. If something goes wrong, they aren’t going to pull your book and send it to another printer. We will do just that. And we also offer design services — if you need them — or we work with you or your designer.
Print on demand output
Print on demand services are fine for outputting 1-color soft cover paperback books. Notice I said ‘outputting’. You can’t print one book at a time, or even 50 on a printing press. That is because there s a basic set-up on press for high-quality printing — and I add — at an affordable cost. Small quantities are spit out by digital output devices, similar to the desktop printers we all use. They are more advanced, but it’s still outputting toner on paper. Toner smears. Ink on paper as only done by printing on press, does not smear. We print on press.
Book packagers
There are many many services that are ‘book packagers‘, although they don’t call themselves that. They offer editing, proofreading, book cover design, interior book design, trailers, reviews, and so much more. But, when it comes right down to it, most are using one or two other services to ‘print’ the books. They may even give you an ISBN, making them the publisher of your book. You only get royalties.
You can spend thousands of dollars and end up with 5 copies or 50 copies of a book. Not an option at Star Print Brokers!
The printing and book binding options are limited at book packagers. The quality is poor, as compared to Star Print Brokers. We’ll print your large quantity novel a simple reference book, or your fine art or photography book.
Book printers
Book printers in the USA are pretty pricey. There are fewer and fewer book binderies in the USA too. Many USA printers use outside binderies versus their own internal bindery. So, book binding options are becoming more and more limited. We use select printers in Asia because we can get better quality and more options — and we control the process to get the best books for our clients.
If book printers are truly printing high-quality books on press, and not outputting on demand, then they should be offering more book binding options. That is where Star Print Brokers takes the lead — once again. Whether it is printing, binding, our many options, our focus on high-quality, or reasonable cost — or all of that — get a quote today!
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