12 Profitable Book-Production Tips for Publishers and Printers

In order to help buyers understand and take best advantage of workflow efficiencies, Malloy has developed an array of fact sheets about its specific capabilities as well as issues of interest in the industry (Malloy.com/FactSheets.asp). It has also recently installed an Océ digital printer for short-run and demand-printing requirements to complement its primary offset equipment.

Acme Bookbinding
Acme Bookbinding (www.AcmeBook.com) is a family-owned business based in Charlestown, Mass. Started in 1958 as a library bindery, the company traces its roots back 186 years through acquisition of a number of older bookbinding companies, including the Harcourt Bindery, a custom shop specializing in leather binding and box making. Acme provides full-service hardcover- and paperback-edition binding as well as library binding. Through its Digital Printing Division, Acme produces facsimile reproductions of out-of-print books as well as digitally prints and binds short-run books. Paul Parisi, Acme’s president, estimates that Acme binds upwards of 300,000 unique titles a year.

Parisi offers the following three production tips:

10. For lamination of cover stock for paperback and hardcover books, wax-free, low-solvent inks must always be used when offset-printing book covers. Ask your ink supplier for an ink that is compatible with film lamination. Inks with wax content or high solvents will not allow lamination to adhere. This can be a serious problem with de-lamination of the film in the joint (hinge) area of a case-bound book.

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.