One of the four binding options that we offer is perfect bound printing. Paperback books are the classic example of perfect binding. Many magazines, catalogs, and booklets are also perfect bound. With perfect bound printing, the inside pages are glued to the cover on the spine and a little up the spine to hold the cover in place. Other common names for perfect binding are soft cover binding and paperback binding. Check out our online calculators for instant quotes:
When we print your books on our digital machines, the covers and inside pages are printed separately. For the inside pages, we print 2 to 4 sets of the book on large sheets of paper. Covers for perfect bound books are twice the size of the inside pages plus the spine of the book. Covers are also printed on large sheets, with 1 to 2 covers printed on each sheet, depending on the size of the cover. If lamination is ordered, it is put on the covers after printing.
We then cut the inside pages down to one book per set and one cover. At this point, both the covers and inside pages are cut to slightly larger than their finished size. After binding, they will be cut to the exact finished size, so that the edges of the book are even.
After the books have set so the glue has a chance to dry, they are then cut to size on three sides. Cutting the books after they have been bound allow them to have even sides.
There are two types of glue used in perfect binding — EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate) and PUR (polyurethane). EVA glue dries much quicker than PUR glue, but EVA glue is not as durable. EVA glue will work fine for most applications. However, PUR glue is almost impossible to pull apart and will not come apart in very cold or hot weather. PUR books can also lay flat without breaking the spine.
We have two perfect binding machines — one that uses EVA glue and another that uses PUR glue. If possible, we will use the PUR machine to give more versatility to your books. However, there are certain circumstances when we can’t use PUR glue — when the book is smaller than 5 x 7 inches, the book has fewer than 40 pages, or the book must be shipped the same day it is bound (PUR glue must dry overnight).
For a more detailed description of the perfect binding process.
For 60# uncoated, 70# matte and gloss text stock, and 80# matte and gloss text stock:
Number of pages divided by 440 = spine in inches
For 70# uncoated text and 100# matte and gloss text stock:
Number of pages divided by 370 = spine in inches
For instance, if your book is 100 pages and you are printing it on 60# uncoated text, the spine would be .227 inches (100 pages divided by 440). When counting pages, the front and back of one sheet of paper is 2 pages. So count pages like you would count pages in a book.
Yes, as long as the spine is at least .25 inches, you can print on the spine. When setting up the spine, make sure that you do not make the text exactly the same size as the spine. The cover can vary a little from book to book, so you want to leave some blank space on the top and bottom of the text. That way, the text will not roll to the front or back cover.
We have four standard sizes for perfect bound books — 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 8.5 x 11, and 9 x 12. However, we can also print nonstandard size books. The range of finished sizes is 4 x 4 to 9 x 12. When ordering a nonstandard size, use the next large size on our calculator. For example, if you want to print a 7 x 10 book, you would use the calculator for 8.5 x 11 books.
Yes, we can print landscape perfect bound printing books in all sizes that we can print portrait books. There is an additional charge for landscape books.
The minimum number of pages is 8 (4 pages for the cover and 4 inside pages). The maximum thickness that we can print is a 2-inch spine. If you are using 60# uncoated text, 70# gloss or matte text stock, or 80# gloss or matte text stock, the maximum number of pages is 880 pages. If you are using 70# uncoated text or 100# gloss or matte text stock, the maximum number of pages is 740 pages.
Yes, we offer gloss, soft-touch, leather, and linen lamination. We definitely recommend lamination for perfect bound covers. Lamination will make your perfect bound printing covers more durable. If you have lots of colors on your cover, gloss lamination will make the colors much more vivid. Soft-touch lamination has a very nice velvety feel to it. Leather and linen lamination has texture to the lamination and looks best on dark covers, where the texture is more obvious.
Yes, we offer 2 and 4 corner rounding on perfect bound books, although 2 corner rounding is most typical. Corner rounding is a good option for planners, journals, and children’s books. But because most books don’t have rounded corners, it can be a nice touch on almost all kinds of books.
All files for perfect bound printing should be high resolution PDF files with bleeds. The bleed should be at least 1/8 inch on all four sides. You should submit a file with the inside pages and another file for the cover. The cover can be one file with the front cover, back cover, and spine, or you can submit three files for the cover, making the front cover, back cover, and spine separate. Typically, three files will be better because it gives more flexibility if we need to adjust your spine or cover.
Please submit your perfect bound printing file for the inside pages as single pages in the order they will be read.
Yes, we can print on the inside front and/or back cover at no additional charge. When submitting your print files for perfect bound printing, make sure it is obvious whether you want printing on the inside covers. If you submit one file with the cover and inside pages and want the inside covers to be blank, you should insert a blank page after the outside front cover and before the outside back cover. If you have no blank pages, we will put the second page of your PDF as the inside front cover and the second to last page of your PDF as the inside back cover.
When it comes time to print your perfect bound book, we hope that you will consider Dazzle Printing. We offer outstanding quality, numerous options, small print quantities, reasonable prices, outstanding client service, free shipping on orders over $399, and 100% satisfaction guarantee. We’re sure you’ll be thrilled with your printing experience! If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 1-800-338-4329, email us at help@dazzleprinting.com, or chat with us online (our online chat is in the bottom right corner of every page on our website).
If you’d like to get instant pricing on your perfect bound book, just check out our online calculator.
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