Perfect Binding

In perfect binding (also known as softcover binding), pages are folded, gathered, sewn, and glued into a cover to form a squared-off spine. Perfect binding is the preferred binding method for graphic novels, trade paperbacks, softcover children’s books, coloring books, catalogs, literary journals, and quarterly magazines. Keep reading to learn more about how PrintNinja’s superior softcover binding method will ensure your softcover book is built to last.

What Is Perfect Binding?

In traditional perfect binding, sheets are printed, folded, and assembled into their proper page order. From there, the side of the book block is cut off, and the pages are glued into a cover to form a squared-off spine.

However, this methodology leads to perfect bound books that don’t open flat, and with pages that can fall out over time.

PrintNinja uses a more sophisticated method, where instead of cutting the book block, the pages are smyth sewn together before being glued into the cover. This methodology provides a far more durable finished product, since the pages are both sewn and glued, and the books can open much flatter, so much less content is lost in the gutter between pages.

Perfect Binding Cover Design Considerations

Because the book block is glued into the cover, perfect bound books have a 10 millimeters area on the inside covers that will be glued to the first and last inside pages. It’s important to keep that in mind when designing your inside covers, because artwork may be lost in the glued area.

Cover Design

Because perfect bound projects have a spine width that varies based on number of pages and paper weight, every perfect bound cover has different size requirements. You can use our perfect binding cover template to design your cover.

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