Books today are no longer “just” books: Years ago, there were almost exclusively hardcovers with or without a (dust) jacket and softcovers with their usual four-sided jackets – but those times are long gone.
Time and again, publishers ask themselves a crucial question: whether the next book should be a hardcover, a softcover, or maybe even both. Publishing house advertising and awards, summaries and author portraits and similar information have to be placed so they are seen straight away, if possible. Enough space has to be found on the jackets of gatefolded brochures or the (dust) jackets of hardcover books, on banderoles and belly bands. Innovative developments are promoted by machine manufacturers like
Müller Martini as well as bookbinding experts. Regardless of what the publishing house ultimately decides, industrial print service providers benefit from the production requirements of these developments.
Enhancement through features
Of course, the production of books is essentially a matter of price: Hardcovers are more costly and have a higher quality appearance, while softcovers are more price-effective with a greater functional appeal. Still: It all depends on the materials used, the features selected and the technologies applied. It is well known that over 50 percent of production costs are due to materials. Some print shops and bookbinders are now managing to market “flexcovers” as an alternative. No matter the name of this alleged product innovation between hardcover and softcover – ultimately, a thicker cardboard grammage is used for the book case.
Books and brochures are most often successful if their contents, typography, finishing, features and format form a unit; for example, when the front and rear endsheets, typography elements, headband and ribbons are published in a uniform color. As long as publishers follow this principle, they can hardly go wrong. Plus, today there are numerous possibilities for enhancing books and brochures with features during finishing processes.
Eyecatchers at the point of sale
Certain contents such as photo pages within a book can be emphasized with the help of individual signature sections made from totally different-colored types of paper. Editions without an original book cover hardly attract attention in shops; thanks to finishing such as lamination or coating, books today are eyecatchers at the point of sale. Both circular stick-on labels in signal colors and transparent or colorful belly bands or banderoles on the front cover can convey additional publisher information. In fiction especially, but now also extending beyond this genre, there are book covers for individual titles and entire series with printed and embossed cloth binding. Edge coloring with multi-colored designs and halftone are experiencing a renaissance. Exclusive editions and multi-part publications or book series are sometimes presented, stored securely and reliably protected with matching boxes and slipcases.
Growing practical value
Dust jackets protect hardcovers against wear and the environment, offering enough space for information with the cover flaps. Even layflat perfect binding without a doubt increases the practical value of the book – but a book with wire comb binding or thread sewing delivers the same effect. More and more often, round book spines and rounded book case edges are being preferred to straight ones, as they make the hardcover book more comfortable to hold. Hardcovers usually have their own (sometimes several) ribbons integrated in the book block, doing away with the need to enclose a bookmark.
Open, browse, turn pages – these terms are often used to describe reading a book. It is common knowledge that the gatefolded brochure presents an alternative to enclosed bookmarks or integrated ribbons. Various book titles impress readers with a practical layout and handling, even making the popular hobby of reading easier. But there’s one clear advantage: To read a gatefolded brochure, which you open and close between two pages like any other book, the flaps are used.
Frank Baier
Editor-in-chief bindereport