Pick a Cover, Any Cover

He believes that publishers should take the time to visit a vendor’s facilities to see firsthand how the vendor produces quality, service and value.

“The knowledge that you gain will be invaluable,” Snapp says. “With that, you will be able to make better daily decisions, particularly when a special project arises.”

Kevin Archbald, vice president of sales at FiberMark, a cover materials provider located in West Springfield, Mass., believes that the most important factor when choosing a cover material is the supplier’s overall total package.

“Look at the value offered by the supplier—quality, price, tech support offered, customer service and speed,” he says.

At the end of the day, you know your projects and company best and will know what services rank highest in priority for you.

“Publishers should choose cover-material suppliers based on the supplier’s primary focus, resources and track record” says Riss. “When choosing a cover material supplier, the quality and consistency of the material and service from a particular supplier will often yield lower total cost of manufacturing a book than a lower-quality, lower-priced supplier.”

Cover Material Providers

The following are some of the cover-material providers currently serving the market and a look at the products they offer.

BN International

Product options: BN International stocks more than 550 items in the Balacron line of PVC coated papers and more than 100 items in bookcloths.

Customers: Sells worldwide indirectly to U.S. publishers through various printers/binderies.

Contact: (201) 476-0037,
www.BNInternational.com

Cover Material Sales Inc.

Product options: “Like our name states, all we do is cover material. …
We offer materials from inexpensive endleaf materials to coated papers
and cloths to some of the most
durable cover stock available,”
Doherty says.

Customers: Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Donald M. Grant Inc., Krieger Publishing Co.

Contact: (800) 225-7132,
www.CoverMaterial.com