Through trial and error, the art of bookbinding has evolved over hundreds of years. Dating back to the 1st Century, the first book made of palm leaves was bound with twine in India. Today, bookbinding has expanded globally and taken on many forms, including saddle stitching, wire binding, and spiral binding. With each having a different functionality and purpose, finding a book bind that suits your needs can sometimes be challenging. But if you're looking for a book bind that is diverse, multifunctional, and works with almost any page count and paper stock, opt for the appropriately named perfect bound books.
What Are Perfect Bound Books?
Whether a notebook, magazine or your favorite novel, the perfect bound method is used in most books that we read. The perfect-bound book method refers to the binding of softcover books using either ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or polyurethane reactive (PUR) adhesives. It involves a book's pages and covers glued together at the spine. Once glued with either EVA or PUR glue, the three remaining sides are trimmed to give the book perfect edges. This binding method will leave your book with a smooth, stylish finish.
Picking The Perfect Glue For Perfect-Bound Books
Whether you're binding a report, children's book, or brochure, the most critical component of the perfect-bound method is the glue. The adhesive you choose will determine the strength and flexibility of the book you're binding, especially with perfect bound books. It is, therefore, essential that you pick the best glue for the job. When binding your book with this method, you'll have the choice of two types of glue:
- Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA): EVA glue is a fast-curing glue that quickly allows you to turn around projects. Additionally, it has many benefits, including being crack and UV resistant and being durable and resilient.
- Polyurethane-Reactive (PUR): Over the past ten years, PUR has become increasingly popular even though it is a slow drying product. Even though PUR may be more expensive than EVA, it only needs half the adhesive to achieve the same binding strength.
Picking the glue for bookbinding may seem like a minor detail, but it will make all the difference to the final product. No matter what you’re binding, always opt for perfect bound books.
With both adhesives having similar binding results, PUR has proven to be far superior to EVA glue, and here's why:
- Binding Strength: Even though EVA will successfully bind your book, PUR will significantly increase the binding strength. In a simple page pull test, books bound with PUR glue have proven to be 50 percent stronger than those with EVA. Having superior binding strength is essential, especially if you want a long-lasting book, brochure, magazine, or report.
- Long-Lasting Durability: The strength and stability of PUR glue does not compare to any other adhesive, including EVA. With age, PUR remains durably and strong, while EVA loses its strength, causing the binding to diminish. Even though more expensive than EVA, PUR glue's long-lasting durability is worth the price tag.
- Heat Resistant: Both PUR and EVA are hot melt glue that is applied hot and forms a bond as it cools and solidifies. Unlike most hot melts, including EVA glue, PUR is heat resistant once it cools, meaning that it will not re-melt once it is solid. Therefore books that are perfect-bound with PUR glue can be exposed to humidity, heat, or low temperatures.
- Flexibility: Even though PUR bound books are incredibly durable once the glue has set, it remains flexible. PUR bound books only uses 10 to 12ml of glue, compared to 35ml of EVA glue, making it more flexible. Flexibility is essential as it prevents a bounded book's spine from cracking when pressed down flat or opened wide.
- Works With Any Ink & Paper: No matter what type of paper stock or ink you've chosen for your book, PUR is known to adhere to almost any surface. Due to its versatility, designers will have a wide variety of options when selecting paper, finishes, and ink options. Unfortunately, EVA glue is not recommended for books with thicker paper stock.
PUR Is Premium
Picking the glue for bookbinding may seem like a minor detail, but it will make all the difference to the final product. Whether you're getting a book self-published or a client's booklet bound, always opt for perfect bound books. Furthermore, to ensure the final product is of the highest quality, go with the PUR glue option. To ensure you get the best, at Jukebox Print, we offer the hard-to-find PUR glue when binding books with the perfect-bound method. No matter how big or small your book is, we are here to ensure you get a premium end product. Learn more about our Perfect Bound Booklets.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lara Moses
Lara Moses is the founder of Copy In The Cloud, a social media and blog management agency for wedding professionals. For almost 10 years, she worked in corporate business as an editor, copywriter, and writer for brands including Seventeen Magazine and Traveller24. In 2014, after leaving her 9-5 job, she co-founded Freemadic while freelancing as a writer and social media manager.
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