Hard Backs...Sort of?

[MatrixGamer]

Its the cover that I find the most labor intensive part. Out sourcing it sounds sound to me.

Ryan and I differ also on binding choice. He has a perfect binder (which is fast) I have a smyth sewer (which gives a more durable bind). But it's teh cover that is key and I've not got a good way to do them.

Chris Engle

[madelf]

Sounds like it should make for a neat book. I certainly would avoid calling it a hardcover though, as that means something pretty specific to most people. It's probably worth specifying the difference from a softcover (perhaps Premium Soft Cover or Premium Perfect Bound?) as it probably would be worth a slight price bump (as along as it didn't cause problems with keeping the book open).

I'd also recommend avoiding the use of "chipboard" in describing the process to your customers. I suspect to most folks who don't deal with printing, boxes, etc, "chipboard" is something else entirely. The oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing material used in construction (the plywood-like stuff made of pressed together wood shavings) is generally referred to as chipboard, which may cause some odd reactions as people try to imagine a book wrapped in 1/4" sheets of OSB (would make for a just about indestructible book though ).

[guildofblades]

Ah. I did not know chipboard was common usage for another industry and another product type. Yes, that could cause some confusion.

Premium Perfect Bound. I like the sound of that. Its accurately descriptive. Though we'll have to explain the "premium" nature in our product texts. but that's ok. Its good to play up unique positive features.

Thanks,

Ryan S. Johnson
Guild of Blades Publishing Group
http://www.guildofblades.com
http://www.1483online.com
http://www.thermopylae-online.com

[David Artman]

RE: What to call your proposed production format, I have a suggestion:

What's half way between soft and hard?
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.
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Firmback

Evocative, but defies presumption. Bold and cheeky, while still being accurate. A deep oak finish, touched by a lingering apple fruit... uh, whoops; sidetracked a bit there.

David

[MatrixGamer]

I like Firmbound. It sounds good.

Chris Engle

[Paul Czege]

Alrighty, here's a triptych. The images are a bit blurry. It's a small-ish book, so I was zoomed in, and the camera doesn't have motion stabilization. But you'll get the idea. The second image clearly shows the exposed edges of the flush trimmed, surface mounted hardboard cover.

If you're curious, it's a very clever Dadaist novelty book. The main body of the book is simply the chapter numbers. And it's indie. The creator is a Dadaist scholar who had a run of the books printed up as holiday gifts for colleagues and friends.

Paul

[MatrixGamer]

So the spine of the book, where the glue or sewing is, is exposed. The cover is a piece of binders board with a cover sheet glued to it. The whole book is then trimmed.

Boy that is going to put a lot of stress on the opening page of the book! Also it will have lots of edges to catch on that could lead to tearing. If the cover sheet was laminated it would delaminate pretty quickly. It's a good Dadaist joke but techincally it would have problems as a book.

I wonder about gamer's acceptance of art books as games. My experience at watching gamers look at my books over the years has been that they are very perticular about what they want to buy. Some things put them off. Something that looks wierd - not in a cool way - don't seem to work. They seem to want games that look like lots of people might play them. This makes sense - they don't want to have to work too hard to get players. Art books are by definition unique - not mass market - not going to be widely played.

Hey! That gives me an idea. Has anyone done D20 fantasy art books. I mean books that are really art binding, with set type, and beautiful binding? They could be sold for a premium price to collectors. Honestly the present D+D books, while they are hardback, are perfect bound and very vulnerable to falling appart. What could a real leather bound book sell for? This might be worth doing.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press = Engle Matrix Games

[Paul Czege]

So the spine of the book, where the glue or sewing is, is exposed....Boy that is going to put a lot of stress on the opening page of the book!

Yeah, it's like the book is perfect bound with a paper cover, and then the hardboard cover is surface mounted to the paper cover. I'm sure there is a lot of stress on the paper where it serves as the hinge for the cover.

Paul

[David Artman]

Or Firmback (from paperback and hardback)?