Hardcover.
Case Binding
Casebound books are commonly referred to as Hardcovers. Within case binding the styles are Casebound and Casewrapped.
Casebound books use traditional leather or book cloth material. They generally feature foil stamping on the front cover and spine for the title and author’s name.
Casewrapped books use a printed sheet in place of book cloth on the exterior. This allows for full color photos or graphics and the addition of film lamination for enhanced look and feel.
Essentially a three step process, case binding requires more material and labor than a softcover book’s Perfect Binding method. The result is a more substantial and durable book at the expense of longer production times and higher costs compared to other binding methods.
Cover Materials
With case wrapped books we will print your design on our commercial presses and in most case apply a thin film laminate for protection. Your basic choices for lamination include gloss, satin and softouch which is satin with a velvet feel.
Traditional casebound options include imitation leather, bonded leather, calfskin and several grades of book cloth such as Buckram and C-Cloth. There are a multitude of color choices within each type of material. Many of these options are produced in batches so please call for availability if you have a specific request.
BUILDING THE CASE
A hardcover book is assembled from three primary components; the case, the bookblock and the endsheets.
The bookblock is essentially a perfect bound book. Check out our Softcover page for more information on this process.
To build the case, three pieces of dense cardboard are used to reinforce the spine and the front and back covers. These are glued to the book cloth in a precise pattern to allow for thickness, overhang and hinge areas. The book cloth is then rolled over the edge and glued to the backside of the case making it ready for final assembly.
Casing-In
Casing-in is the final process in hardcover book assembly. This step marries the case with the bookblock using endsheets.
Endsheets are made of a durable paper and are generally non-printed although printed endsheets are an option.
These sheets are trimmed and folded to match the size of the book block. They are glued to the inside of the case and to the edge of the spine on the bookblock.
The entire book is then clamped and pressed until the glue sets. Once set the book is ready to accept foil stamping and an optional dust jacket.
