Book Binding

Different Types of Hardbound Spines


Soft Strip Spine

Soft Strip in the Spine

This method uses a thin card stock spine strip equal to the thickness of the text bulk. This is often used on thicker books with jackets and textbooks. This method creates a more "shouldered look" as the spine is narrower than the front and back case boards.


Hard Strip Spine

Hard Strip in the Spine

A Hard Strip is made from material that is the same thickness as the front and back case boards, but the spine width is slightly narrower than the text bulk. This will create a book with "shoulders" on the front and back case boards also.


Hard Strip Spine with Square Back   Hard Strip Spine with Square Back

Hard Spine with Square Back

A Hard Spine with Square Back cover also uses a spine strip which is of the same weight board as the front and back case boards, but the spine is made 3/16" wider than the text bulk. This creates a "square" look. This is often used on thin cased Children's books, Trade Editions, and nearly all side sewn books, without jackets.


Rounded Spine Book

Rounded Back

Rounded back books must be at least 1/2" thick and will always be made with a soft spine. The rounding machine creates a slight curvature in the spine edge allowing a thicker book to have better open-ability.