Newsletter Archive: Aug/Sep 2007

PUR is the glue that will bind to virtually any kind of paper.  It's what we use to bind difficult stocks or a cross grain semi-difficult stock, or just when we need a book to stay together long term.

And we all know now that PURs do not need 24 hours to cure any more.  In fact, we drill, shrinkwrap, and ship immediately, just like any binding process.

However, did you know that PURs, after cold water based glues, are the most recyclable of bookbinding glues?  Standard EVA hot melts, which are still the primary choice for general purpose binding, are not removable from paper for purposes of recycling the paper.

PUR glues are easily separated and removed from paper fibers during the recycling process, because of their rigidity after curing.  To your clients who are focused on choosing environmentally friendly materials, PUR may be the glue that they have been looking for!

Other PUR tidbits:

PUR glue runs at a much cooler temperature than standard hotmelt, so it extracts less moisture from the paper. This means that any wrinkling that occurs in the spine as a result of the hotmelt "cooking" the moisture out of the paper is greatly reduced with PUR.

PUR glue may be the best answer to binding digitally produced covers and text that are printed with oil based toners and inks. We know of a few cases where conventional glues will not stick to two side printed digital covers.

Binder or Post-Production Consultant?

For most bindery & finishing companies, approximately 90% of the work they receive has little or  no input into the job's layout and imposition.  While the work is generally well planned by experienced people, there still is a fairly large amount of jobs that come into post-production with some kind of issue that needs addressing before finishing.

These issues frequently stem from the following:

• The use of electronic files (especially spines for perfect bound books)
• Assumptions that job planners make without checking for detail
• Miscellaneous items that people don't know to ask about. 

To ensure a problem-free finishing job, printers should quickly review with their binder the specs of all their jobs to head off anything that could slow down production.  This would alleviate situations such as signatures that have to be hand fed or collated by hand off line because they are imposed improperly.

In particular, consult with your binder when you have folded signatures. Most printers like to do their own folding which is fine. But some advance assessment of a job with the binder before folding can make a huge difference in the quality and turn-around of a project. Binderies need to know the cover layout to see if there is enough glue trap area, which will affect how much trim to leave on the text. For perfect bound books, minimizing your spine perfing results in signatures that retain some stability as it is drawn into the gatherer.

Consulting with your binder or finisher before sending over the job is the best way to ensure problem-free production. This applies particularly if you are new to the business or haven't worked with your vendor before. While most binderies have the same requirements, they do often have different machinery that will allow you to achieve greater efficiencies than vendors you have previously worked with.

Working with a binder as as a post-production consultant, and not just a vendor, can directly impact how well projects go and minimizes cost and turnaround time. That is the basis of a post-production partnership The binder understands the specifics of your business, and you learn how the bindery can help deliver a top notch job. Working together is always a win-win deal.