OUGD504 - Mock up of Binding

Mock Up of Softcover Binding

To create a soft cover bound book in a similar way to a traditional travel guide it was found that the text block would have to be printed in signatures, then bound like a case binding and glued into a soft cover, leaving fold lines for the cover to open and close. Having a softcover on the front of the book would make it less bulky and more easily portable than a hardcover.

Printing the Design 

To print the design from InDesign into signatures the settings had to be put on 2 Up Perfect Bound. The book was currently 60 pages long which was a multiple of four, however because the pages were going to be split into equal signatures this meant that four signatures with 16 pages inside would equal 64 pages (this was the closest value to what was already in the book). This meant there were a few extra blank pages at the back however these would be filled by the Getting Around section in the final book which would include information about travel and mentionables. By selecting print all this meant that all the pages were printed in their appropriate signatures, making it easier to print a large paged document. Printing so that the page flipped on the short edge meant that the page was turned where the spine would be in the book.

When the document was printed out it took quite a while to work out and order all the pages and split them into the signatures.

Creating the Text Block 

To create the book a text block would have to be created in a similar way to a case bound book. There had to be an even number of holes in each signature and they had to start approximately 1 inch from the edges of the cropped area. Marking all the points on a piece of paper and using this as a guide over the top of each signature made it easier to get consistent holes on all of the signatures. From this the book was then stitched using fishing wire to create a strong bind. Stitching along one signature then laying the next one on top and going into this, creating loops from the second to first signature created a strong link between each of the signatures. This was repeated for all of the signatures to create the final text block. This was glued along the so that when dry there was no gaps between the signatures when the book was opened. Cutting the top and bottom of the text block at this point meant that there was a clean and consistent edge on both. 

Mocking up a Cover

The cover dimensions were worked out so that the height of the cover was a few millimeters bigger to allow for overlap and to make sure that the text block could not be seen. To create the spine folds the spine had to be measured and a few extra millimeters added on to compensate for the bending of the card. Marking the center point on the card then measuring half of the spine width on either side mean that the spine was exactly central to the card. From this an extra 7mm was marked on either side for the folds on the front cover, which would allow the cover to be opened without putting pressure on the spine. Folding these lines sharply was important for the book to lay flat. The spine had to be folded inwards whereas the cover folds were folded the outwards which meant having to go over the folds a few times with a ruler because when one fold was done it had to be flattened to use the ruler for the next fold. 

Gluing the cover to the spine

Glue was then applied to the spine of the text block and this was placed within the spine fold on the cover and left to dry. Cutting the pages down at this point meant that the pages were flush with the cover creating a professional finish.

Considerations and alterations need for the final design

- The book will need to be 64 pages long so the extra section on Getting Around will be included
- The space between the spine and cover fold needs to have a little glue to join the front and back pages to the cover, which will mean the spine will not be visible and more protected.
- The final design will be using two pieces of card stuck together rather than a singular one like in the mock up. This will mean the cover will be thicker and harder to fold. To combat this, the card underneath the main cover could be cut into two sections to fit in the inside and back covers. This would still cover the cut out sections but would mean that the spine section would only be one piece of card thick making it easier to fold.