Books: How they are made

Book bindings date back to 1) _________ century, Egypt, where Christian Moncks sawed sheets of papyrus together. Moncks in 2) __________ stitch together hand written parchments, binding them between wooden boards often covered in 3) _____________, sometimes even embellished with gold leave and jams. The 16 century saw the arrival of 4) ______________________ with simple case board bindings.

Today commercial book binding is highly mechanized. The process starts with 5) _____________, each containing several consecutive pages of the book. A worker positions a stuck of each sheet into a machine appropriately called “the guillotine”. Its sharp blade drops down and 6) __________ access paper. After trimming the stuck moves into a machine called “the folder” which falls each sheet into 7) __________ with the pages and the right order. As we see here, in slow motion, the machine starts by perforating the fold line. Then the sheet moves along the 8)___________ until it hits a stopper to the fire right. This process repeats itself for each fold of the sheet.

Another machine now assembles them in the right 9) _________ along with the cover for binding. There are many different binding methods. This one is called wire stitching. As we see here in slow motion, the machine drives heavy duty staples right through the 10) _______________ of the signature’s uncover. The staples are cut from steal wire that’s so strong. You have to tear the book apart to remove them…

Task 6. Now recall the things which you saw in the film. Underline the objects you saw.

leather, conveyer belt, books, paper, wooden boards, keyboard, man in a uniform, newspapers, book binding process.

Task 7. After watching the video you have already understood the process of book binding peculiarities in general. Read the text about various commercial techniques in book binding that are used nowadays and methods of hardcover binding, in particular, and answer the following questions (You have 15 minutes for this task):

• Which of the mentioned below binding methods is the most reliable one?

• Which of the mentioned below binding methods is the simplest one?

• Is oversewing the most common type of hardcover binding for books?

Modern commercial binding

There are various commercial techniques in use today. Today, most commercially produced books belong to one of four categories:

• Hardcover binding.

• Punch and bind

• Thermally activated binding

• Stitched or sewn binding

A hardcover, hardbound book has rigid covers and is stitched in the spine. Looking from the top of the spine, the book can be seen to consist of a number of signatures bound together. When the book is opened in the middle of a signature, the binding threads are visible. Unusually large and heavy books are sometimes bound with wire.

Methods of hardcover binding

There are a number of methods used to bind hardcover books, from them:

• Case binding is the most common type of hardcover binding for books. The pages are arranged in signatures and glued together into a "text block.". The text block is then attached to the cover or "case" which is made of cardboard covered with paper, cloth, vinyl or leather. This is also known as perfect binding, cloth binding, or edition binding.

• Oversewing, where the signatures of the book start off as loose pages which are then clamped together. Small vertical holes are punched through the far left-hand edge of each signature, and then the signatures are sewn together with lock-stitches to form the text block. Oversewing is a very strong method of binding and can be done on books up to five inches thick. However, the margins of oversewn books are reduced and the pages will not lie flat when opened.

• Sewing through the fold (also called Smyth sewn), where the signatures of the book are folded and stitched through the fold. The signatures are then sewn or glued together at the spine to form a text block. In contrast to oversewing, through-the-fold books have wide margins and can open completely flat. However, the text block of a sewn-through-the-fold book is not very secure, which can cause some signatures to come loose over time. Many varieties of sewing stitches exist, from basic links to complex decorative stitches. While Western books are generally sewn through holes punched along the fold, some Asian bindings, such as the Retchoso or Butterfly Stitch of Japan, use small slits instead of punched holes.

• Double-fan adhesive binding starts off with two signatures of loose pages, which are run over a roller—"fanning" the pages—to apply a thin layer of glue to each page edge. Then the two signatures are perfectly aligned to form a text block, and glue edges of the text block are attached to a piece of cloth lining to form the spine. Double-fan adhesive bound books can open completely flat and have a wide margin. However, certain types of paper do not hold adhesive well, and, with wear and tear, the pages can come loose.

(The text is borrowed and modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookbinding: as of 25 January 2012)

Task 8. The book size is also an essential question. The size of a modern book is based on the printing area of a common flatbed press. Read the information below about different book sizes. Then open your bag and look at books that you have. Identify their size (You have 10 minutes for this task).