April 2007 - Answers to Three Common Binding Questions

At Muscle Bound Bindery, we are asked a wide range of bookbinding questions from customers on a daily basis. While we’re always willing to offer individual answers to unique questions, we thought it would be helpful to answer three common questions here: 

How do hinge scores differ on Otabind and perfect-bound books?
On a perfect bound book, the front and back covers each contain a single side score that allows the book to open easily. This so-called hinge score is typically placed about ¼” from the spine, or just beyond where the binding adhesive stops on the inside front and back covers. For that reason, we suggest removing inks and coatings a ¼” from the spine for perfect binding applications.

An Otabind book is different in that there are two sets of side scores on each cover. This is due to how the cover is attached to the book block in the Otabind process. Since there is no adhesive on the spine of the cover, strips of glue are placed between the scores on the inside front and back covers to adhere the book block to the cover. The second of these scores serves as the hinge score; at Muscle Bound, this score is positioned 7/16” from the spine, which should also serve as the strip-out margin for inks and coatings.

I’d like to design inserts to be bound into my adhesive-bound book. What are my options?
Inserts for adhesive binding applications can take many different formats and sizes. Common inserts include foldout panels for maps or advertising; index tabs; perf cards for BRCs or coupons; and CD/DVD sleeves, to name a few. To maintain optimal spine strength and book durability, we recommend using adhesive-friendly substrates for your inserts. If this isn’t possible, the use of a magna strip or similar bind-in may be necessary.

Please note that undersized inserts must be designed to jog to either the head or foot. Let Muscle Bound help you plan your inserts to account for this and other production requirements.

What’s the minimum page count that can be bound?
It depends on several factors, including the thickness of the text
stock, the format size of the book and the weight of the cover. In
general, a thicker text stock will allow you to get away with fewer pages,
as it will measure out thicker per page, resulting in an overall thicker book. Text and cover bulking at about an 1/8" is a standard for perfect bound books. Although it may be necessary to use a heavier text stock to
ensure proper bulking, keep in mind the weight of the cover stock should not be too heavy as it will exhibit difficulty in scoring and nipping
onto the book. 10pt or lighter is a good rule of thumb for the cover
stock on a thin book, grain should always run parallel to the bind edge.
Consult with us for the best style of binding when designing potential
thin books.

The Muscle Bound Advantage
Muscle Bound is pleased to answer all your questions from the common to the obscure. As one of the first North American providers of Otabind, Muscle Bound Bindery is well-versed in helping you design brochures, catalogs, reference manuals, educational materials and other books that take full advantage of this layflat binding style. We also offer soft cover perfect binding, as well as side-sewn hard cover case binding to give you a binding style for every application and budget. Give us a call to discuss top-quality binding solutions for your next book project.