Laid flat - Layflat outside the sawdust ring

Many readers may not give much thought to the opening of a book. The opening behavior, also known as layflat behavior, is of course of great concern to us as bookbinders – after all, we want content to be presented well at all times. But what actually influences this opening behavior?

As with swinging, tradition and expertise are paired in the production of a book. And another parallel – the bigger the event, the bigger or more appropriate the sawdust ring. For example, at the Eidgenössisches, the sawdust ring must have a diameter of 14 meters. The type of binding for a book must also be adapted to the purpose.

We expect a book to open easily and the printed texts and images to be clearly visible. However, certain contents require more than the usual convenient opening: Books with double-sided panoramic images, for example, require binding types with excellent opening properties, because who enjoys photos that are largely "swallowed" in the middle? The type of binding is a decisive factor in determining the opening behavior of a book. By binding type, we mean the technique used to bind the block. We know a variety of different binding types:

Wire stitching & Wiro – The agile «Jungschwinger» with great flexibility

These are the entry-level variants of the binding types. Wire stitching (staple binding) and wire-o (Wiro for short) belong to the mechanical binding types. The paper sheets are bound into a product by means of wire. These types of binding open very well and are ideal for short documentation or the Wiro, for example, as a recipe book. Due to the visible wire, the book appears less noble than the following binding types.

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Adhesive binding – The robust «Swiss» with the prospect of a long career

In perfect binding, the printed sheets are milled into single sheets, exposing the paper fibers before they are glued together with glue. Perfect binding is used for books and brochures with different types of paper as a more cost-effective alternative to thread sewing. In industrial bookbinding, we offer brochures both as adhesive binding with PUR (glue) and as an adhesive binding with dispersion (flatbind).

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Thread stitching – The stately «Zwilch» with noble thread

Thread sewing is a very durable and stable type of binding with good opening characteristics. The folded sheets of paper of a book are gathered together, each opened in the middle and joined or "thread-stitched" in the fold to the other layers of the complete work. The paper connection from sheet to sheet remains intact and is bound into a solid and easy-to-open book block during gluing.

Consistency and stability are important qualities to be successful.

Flatbook – the «swinging king» among the binding types

The flatbook is the binding type with the best layflat properties. It is, so to speak, the "royal class" of binding types and, due to the complex processing, enables perfect opening behavior. With the flatbook, the paper sheets are glued together over their entire surface to form solid book pages. The result is a book block that opens completely flat and offers continuous double pages without transition: A traditional technique for making children's books and menus. Rediscovered by Bubu and perfected for today's demands, the Flatbook is the luxurious version and impresses with its stable pages as well as the high quality of the product.

So there is a suitable binding type for every occasion! Choose for yourself! My favorite is the swing king!

Thomas Freitag, CEO Bubu AG