12 Profitable Book-Production Tips for Publishers and Printers
11. For Smyth-sewn books, when printing books with bleeds that run into the binding margin, leave a 3/32” unprinted and unvarnished “glue trap” in the gutter between signatures. Without the glue trap, adhesives may not penetrate sufficiently into the paper fibers to provide a strong binding.
12. For material purchases, check in advance with your binder when materials such as cloth, board, endpapers, slipcases and other special-order book components need to be purchased. Some manufacturers and suppliers of materials have long lead times.
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.