Best of PI - Case Bindery


Summer 1991 Cloth Samples

We often get requests for cloth samples from new publishers. While we have a sample swatch book from each of our three major cloth suppliers we are reluctant to part with them. Your best bet for cloth samples would be to call the manufacturers directly. The customer service numbers for the three cloth people we most frequently use are:
Holliston Roxite 1-800-251-0451
Joanna Arrestox 1-800-251-7528
Kivar 1-800-842-1243

All three will send out samples. If you like, you can mention ThomsonShore's name when you make your request.

Return to Best of PI - Contents


Spring 1994 Case binding - Colored Endleaf

For a simple little thing like a case bound end leaf, there are a multitude of complications on ordering and pricing. However, in our usual effort to cut away the chaff, here is what we think you might be interested in considering colored end leaf.

Basically, there are two prime manufacturers of colored end leaf, Rainbow and Multicolor. They both have many colors available. Rainbow actually has 87 colors including two prints and three finishes and probably a hundred different prices.

End leaf is made with longer fibers than normal paper and comes in 80 lb. (Rainbow) or 70 lb. (Multicolor). The long fibers give high folding strength and, in the case of Rainbow, it hits 400 on the MIT folding test. If you chose to use regular colored stock instead of end leaf stock for end leaves, you will sacrifice considerable folding durability.

Some specific end leaf colors are acid free and some are recycled but most are neither. The smallest colored end leaf order you can obtain will be enough for 300 books and it will add about $.30/copy to the production cost. This added cost drops to about $.10/copy at 1000 copies and goes down slowly from there.

A printed end leaf like Rainbow's Mezzotints adds another $.10 to this cost while one of the embossed finishes adds just about $.02/copy.

At one time Multicolor end leaf was only available in even cartons and this made it very costly for a small number of books. However, now the minimum order from both manufacturers is approximately enough for 300 copies.

Return to Best of PI - Contents


Spring 1993 Reinforcing Case Bound Books

In January we installed a Brackett Stripping Machine that does reinforcing of case bound books. Until now we had been sending out books that had to be reinforced, in order to get the reinforcing done, but now those books will stay in-house. We have also been doing some three piece cases (though not all of them) in-house so now almost all of our case bound books will be bound inhouse on a five or six week production schedule.

Return to Best of PI - Contents


Summer 1994 Colored Endleaf Update

Here's a brief update on the use of colored endleaves for short runs of case bound books. While the two companies (Rainbow and Multicolor) that make most of the colored endleaf will tell you that their products are readily available in very small amounts, they both have minimum order charges that severely penalize small orders. For instance, with Multicolor, the minimum order is $125.00. For Rainbow it is $75.00. So, whereas a standard white or natural colored endleaf will cost about $.05/copy in any quantity, a colored end sheet, for 250 books, can be $.50 per copy. From around 1000 copies and up, most colored endleaves cost from $.05 to $. 10 per copy more than matching (white or natural) endsheets but in small quantities that difference goes way up. For very short runs, Rainbow is the endleaf we prefer because, while it is costly, it is less costly than Multicolor.

Return to Best of PI - Contents


Summer 1994 What's Happening to Book Cloths

This competitive world we live in seems to promote constant change. Even the cloth manufacturers, Holliston, ICG (Arrestox) and their competitors are doing new things.

The Arrestox people have done away with the Pyroxylin coating on their A, B and C grade cloths in favor of a more environmentally friendly aqueous coating. This coating is neutral pH, has similar abrasion resistance to pyroxylin, stamps well and does not change the cloth's color. In their 20 most popular colors, the B grade Arrestox cloth is about $.Ol/copy higher priced than Holliston Roxite. In their less popular colors, it is close to $.08/copy higher priced. If you are interested in A, B or C grade Arrestox and want to see the 20 colors that have the low price, let us know and we will send you samples. At the moment, Holliston's Roxite charges the same for all their cloths, popular colors or not.

Return to Best of PI - Contents