Creating Your Own Perfect Bound Books Using Your Thermal Binding Machine

Just about any softcover book on the market today is bound using a system called Perfect Binding. Perfect binding is completed by using hot glue and a one-piece wraparound cover to provide a permanent bind without punching or threading a spine. The finished product is a clean, very professional looking bound document, report, or book. Unfortunately, professional perfect bind systems start at five thousand dollars and increase from there, with the lowest ones being small desktop models. As a result, this binding style is out of reach for most individuals. However, there is a more economical option. Using a thermal binding machine, you can produce your own perfect bound documents in just minutes for a much lower cost.

Standard covers used with thermal binding machines come pre-assembled with adhesive built into the spine. But if you want to use your machine for perfect binding, you'll make your own cover. The first thing you'll need to do is to print a full wraparound page you can use for the cover. Whatever size pages you're using, you'll have to at least double it to make the cover, longer if your spine will be thicker than one inch. For example, if you are looking to bind a standard size document measuring 8.5" by 11", you'll need access to a printer that is capable of printing a ledger size sheet of 11" by 18" or longer. If your printer can't handle large format documents, you might think about switching to a half size book or having your cover printed professionally. Whichever option you choose, producing the actual cover is the first step in binding your own document.

Second, you'll need to score your cover in order to create a spine for the glue strip as well as the pages to sit in. Depending on the number of projects you have to create, there are a variety of scoring options. The most economical solution for short-run applications is to affix a scoring blade to a rotary paper trimmer. A great selection for this is the Swingline SmartCut Dial-A-Blade Plus. The SmartCut features four blades in a single cartridge for ultimate versatility in a single device. If you're looking to complete a large amount of books, a professional scoring machine may be better for you. You might consider Standard's DocuCrease or a number of other heavy duty scoring machines. Whatever device you use, you'll need to make two straight scored lines to create the correct spine size for the number of pages that will go in your book.

The next step is to cut the glue strip down to size. You can find thermal binding glue strips in 12" by 1" strips at a reasonable price in packs of 50. Simply use scissors to trim them down to the correct size. You'll want to make it the exact width of the spine of your book but about ¼" shorter so that there will be about 1/8" gap on each end to allow for spreading of the glue. You don't want it to spill out of the edge of your document.

You're almost finished! The final step is to assemble your book and bind it. Insert the croppedglue strip into the spine, ensuring that it is laying flat and fills the width of the spine. Next, jog your papers and place them into the cover with the binding edge against the adhesive. Make sure they are completely straight and lined up. Insert the entire project into your thermal binding machine and run the binding cycle. After the process is finished, firmly tap the spine on a counter to ensure that the pages are completely lodged in the adhesive. Lay your document in the cooling rack or on the counter to fully cool so the glue properly sets.

Congratulations, you have a fully bound document. One last optional step is to face trim your book. This simplifies the entire binding process somewhat and guarantees that the cover and pages line up perfectly. All you have to do is use a large paper cutter or stack cutter (we recommend the Tamerica Guillomax for performance and affordability) to trim the three unbound sides and make the edge flush. This is unnecessary if your cover is the correct size and your pages are straight, it simply adds a more professional look.