August 2007- The Challenges of Special-Order Projects

Unique projects call for seamless coordination between the customer and the bindery. This is when you realize that the most valuable tool in your shop is communication.

A recent project at Muscle Bound Bindery involved the hard case binding and foil stamping of a special-order, limited edition book about Arabian horses. Our customer knew he wanted a cloth-on-board cover and foil stamping for an elegant, classic look. He was able to find an existing book to use as an example, one that reflected his vision of the finished product. The cloth covered volume sported the same type of material he wanted and better yet, was in the exact red he had in mind.

Just to make things interesting, he was located in a different part of the state, several hours away. Plenty of communication would be needed up-front during the planning phase to avoid problems.    

The first order of business was matching the regal red the customer had in front of him. Armed with Pantone color charts at each location, a Muscle Bound Bindery representative and the customer reviewed options over the phone until they found the closest corresponding shade of red. Satisfied that the match was made, the order was placed with a New York supplier.

Creating a template of the cover layout was the next step. This required plenty of contact between the two locations, often between the customer’s assistants and our experienced staff. After Muscle Bound drew up a cover layout showing the correct size and positioning of the cover boards, joint area and spine, the customer created an electronic file of the image in the correct position to be foil stamped onto the cloth. It had to be right since no prototype existed.

After a final review of the template, the layout was complete. Sending the piece out to be foil stamped was the last step in the collaborative process before the binding. Our client chose an attractive gold metallic foil to add a special touch to the book.

The planning and synchronization paid off and the result was well worth the effort. The customer was more than pleased with the appearance and quality of the final product. The venture was slightly more complex than the usual job but with proper communication the whole process from inception to completion took just three weeks.

The Muscle Bound Advantage
Case bound hardcover book production is a specialty at Muscle Bound Bindery. We case-in adhesive-bound or side-sewn book blocks to create the strongest, most durable hardcover books available. Additional services include layflat Otabind adhesive binding, perfect binding film laminating, shrink wrapping and more. Call us to get started on your next successful book project today.