At Buroform, we are always looking for ways to deepen our knowledge. Recently, we paid a visit to one of our partners: bookbindery Patist. Our goal? To unravel the secret behind perfectly bound books in order to take the final result of our books to a higher level. We spoke with Mike Silva, Manager at van HeesPatist Bookbinders. His experiences and challenges gave us valuable insights.
“Grain direction, grammage, number of pages, imposition… there are many factors that influence the final result. That makes our work, of course, more interesting. We find it especially important and that is also what is so nice about the cooperation with Buroform that there is open communication between the bookbinder and the printing company. By working well together, we guide a project in the right direction for a brilliant final result.”
“It goes without saying that book designers must communicate well with the printing company – or directly with the bookbinder – to know the different possibilities. The more you know as a designer about the structure of a book, the greater your freedom.”
“Ha! No, of course not (smiles). It’s a big misunderstanding that beautiful books are more expensive than less beautiful ones. The beauty of a book lies in the way the possibilities are played with. Take for example a book with an open spine: the production process is identical to that of a sewn hardcover, but without the covering of greyboard. Yet the end result gives a completely different character. Again, the same applies: the more you know as a designer about the structure of a book, the greater your freedom. Even with a limited budget, there are endless possibilities to create something special.”
“What not everyone knows yet is that paper never comes 100% square from the supplier. By cutting the sheets square in advance, you already lay the foundation for a beautiful end result. After that, the imposition also plays a major role. If there are images that have to run across two pages, it’s a smart idea to already check in the imposition that as little trimming as possible will be needed. This way, fewer deviations occur and we can bind more precisely.”
“Beautiful books will always continue to exist, but I find it especially important that the knowledge of bookbinding is not lost. We should not hide it: there are still very few training courses available for the new generations of book makers, even though it is such a wonderful profession.
To the question of whether new binding methods will still emerge, Mike answers optimistically: ‘I think everything already exists by now, but there is infinite room for creativity with flaps, wraps, cut-outs, printing on the sections or on the edges, and more.’
Thank you very much for the warm welcome, Mike.
See you again soon!
Team Buroform
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