February 2006: Design Spotlight: Flexi-Cover Sewn Book

This flexi-cover sewn book combines the durability of Smyth sewing with the flexible cover of perfect binding.

One of the main advantages of working with a full-service trade bindery is the range of options available to you and your customers. Regardless of the design, usage and budget requirements of a project, there’s a binding style or finishing technique that will meet your needs.

A flexible-cover (or “flexi-cover”, as we call it) sewn book is one “niche” binding style, and offers advantages of both perfect binding and case binding. As the name implies, a flexi-cover sewn book is the combination of a Smyth-sewn book block wrapped in a flexible, turned-edge cover. The result is a book with more durability and flexibility than a perfect-bound book, but without the added cost and production time of a hardcover cased-in book. Flexi-cover books also have a higher perceived value than a perfect-bound book, a desirable quality for many retail applications.

A flexi-cover sewn book is produced like a case-bound book: The cover is attached to the Smyth-sewn book block using four-page endleaves. The cover itself is often comprised of a printed sheet turned over a thick cover stock, then film laminated for extra rub resistance. Cookbooks, catalogs and directories are popular flexi-cover applications.

Planning Tips

• The thickness of the cover stock is critical to the book’s appearance. A stock that’s too thick will have a “memory” that can cause the cover to remain slightly open; a stock that’s too thin won’t provide the proper feel and perceived value. At The Riverside Group, we recommend using a cover stock between 8pt. and 12pt.

• Ask The Riverside Group for cover layout assistance. The fit between the cover and book block must be carefully planned to ensure that the strength of the book isn’t compromised.

The Riverside Advantage

At The Riverside Group, part of our ongoing promise to customers is to offer a continually expanding range of binding and finishing choices. In addition to the flexi-cover option, we offer complete book production solutions, including perfect binding; PUR and layflat adhesive binding; Wire-O, plastic spiral and spiral wire binding; hardcover casing-in of adhesive-bound, sewn or mechanically-bound books, and more. Call The Riverside Group today to begin planning your next successful book project.