Bibliophile – from Webster's Online

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliophilia for further reading.

The printed word in book form has inspired, taught, and obsessed all ages and classes of people since the first monk dog-eared a page to mark his place.  To some, the essence of the book is simply printed paper stuck together with glue.  To others, perhaps more in touch with the total experience of a book, it is far more.  I believe that there is something magical about the ability of a book to bring the words of an author – even one long in the grave – to life. 

Small wonder that so many people are drawn to write.  What better way to leave a legacy, to become in some small way immortal? 

Thus, the Publisher has its place.  Oh, to be Published!  To submit the scratchings of a lifetime to the scrutiny of strangers in hopes that your work, your creation, your soul-child will be deemed worthy of print.

But what of those who wish to retain the full ownership of that work?  What of those with less aspiration to commercial distribution?  Is self-publishing any less noble?  Is a book bound by the dozen not so grand?

Part of the answer here lies at the heart of the bibliophile's passion - the form of the Book.  From cover to cover, page by page, the purposeful choice of font and spacing, even the amount of white space that frames the text, each part of the well bred book is a choice.  So, how are those carefully crafted words pressed into the wings of bookdom?  How do you make a book?

No, not the part sitting in seclusion with nothing but a candle for warmth and a bottle for company,  I mean what about the actual bound book?

Consider the basic ingredient of the printed book.  Paper choice can make all the difference in that first impact.  Just the right amount of toothy texture in a warm white and the paper gracefully leads the reader to "Once, long ago…"  On the other hand, a hard finished, bright white, opaque bond may serve to let the reader know you mean Business.  And let's not even go into the number of choices that spring up when someone asks for "plain white" paper!

Mother always said you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.  That doesn't mean you can leave it off.  And in the end, anyone in publishing will tell you that 99.9% of people browsing bookstores will absolutely judge books by their covers.  So, you'd better do it right!  What is right for the cover of your book?  Not all books look right with a glossy laminated cover and not all budgets allow for full color graphics.  We have seen that very refined and appealing covers can be created through the use of high-end cover stocks (available in a plethora of colors and textures) printed with tasteful black text and images.  In the end, the choice is yours.  

The manuscript has been edited and proofed.  You've made all your choices about layout, formatting, papers and print quantities.  You've settled your last argument with the cover artist over the relative placement of the title and your giant smiling face.  The files are imposed and ready to be ripped (sounds nasty, no?). Now what?  How does all of this become the next book to grace Oprah's shelf?

It certainly isn't as simple as pressing a button!

Let's take a theoretical paperback book, say 300 pages at a nominal 5.5"x8.5"  Our Xerox Nuvera 120EA can print pages for about 60 books an hour.  When things are really rolling along, those stacks of freshly printed bond will be transferred from the high capacity stacker to a cart and wheeled to the Enormous Cutter before the paper has even cooled off.

Next, a trained operator expertly chops those stacks into individual books separated with slip sheets for easy sorting and offsets each set just-so for the bindery tech to grab by feel.

Covers are often in process on separate equipment while the guts are being printed.  After printing, full color covers are allowed to sit for 24 hours so that residual toner gassing and fuser oil can dissipate.  Then we can apply a thin, heat-activated laminating film to the outside of the book cover.  This helps protect the image, adds durability and gives the cover art a little Pop! 

After printing and laminating (if requested) the covers are ready for scoring.  If you've ever folded cardstock by hand, you know that it is difficult to make a clean edge.  By scoring the folds where the cover wraps around the spine, we can get a sharp, finished look.  This score has nothing to do with Dream Team Basketball or the back seat of a '78 Nova.  What we are doing is making a knife-edge impression along the fold line.  This pre-folds the paper fibers to make them cooperate without actually folding the cover.

Now we have the two basic components of the book together in the bindery and we're back to the question of How It All Goes Together.

Picture an enormous machine – something like the love-child of a mini-bus and an oven.  We like to call ours the BooQuinator 440.  (edit: That's the Royal "We")

The covers are stacked on a feed tray at one end of the machine, trembling with anticipation and shifting nervously in the breeze from a small air jet.  This helps to Lift and Separate the covers.  In just a few moments, a set of suction cups will swing down and pull the first cover into rollers that will draw it into position on the Nipper Table.

At the same time, boiling hot glue churns in the middle of the machine as heavy wheels spin their endless round, waiting for that too brief moment when they will have their one chance to caress each book's fresh-milled spine.

The previously cut and offset sets of pages are stacked on a cart at the other end of the machine where our Skilled Operator prepares a series of clamps that will carry them through the machine to their inevitable union.  The milling blade (something like a small circular saw with the teeth sticking out the side) is set to remove just a hair's breadth of the bind edge and leave it nicely roughed-up.  The better to hold the glue and the better the glue to hold.

The operator firmly grasps a set of pages and inserts them into a waiting clamp. Then, and only then, does he push The Button.

Szkrank! Flap! Cachong!  The bind edge is milled and given a coat of hot melt glue.  The cover is pulled to the nipper table and in continuous motion, raised up to meet the waiting pages.  The nipper table simultaneously folds the cover around the spine and holds it in place while the glue cools. Seconds later, a Perfect Bound Book falls out the slot by the operator's feet.

Hold your tongue, knavish one!  I did indeed say there was more to it than the pressing of a single button.  This book is not done yet.  Just look at the tawdry thing with its covers sticking out past the pages.  Why, even the pages themselves look a little rough on the edges!

Back to the Enormous Cutter we go!  In the final step to finishing the book, all three un-bound edges are trimmed to remove the excess cover material and about 1/8 inch of the guts.  Voila! Perfectly squared corners,  perfectly flush edges and a perfectly bound Perfect Bound book is finally born.

The author of this article, Ben Vahl, is in charge of our shipping/receiving and purchasing. He has been a big part of our company for over 10 years and has quite the sense of humor.