BINDING PROCESSES

The, binding of books is both a craft and an art  although the artistic aspect has receded to the background in modem binding, except for some special categories of books. The production of binding is in two parts. All the processes of binding books before lettering and decoration, are known as 'Forwarding'. This is a craft, requiring a high degree of technical skill and also a good knowledge of materials and processes used in book, production. 'Finishing' i.e. decoration of the cover in various styles, is an art in which some, figted binders of the past have attained substantial heights of achievement, comparable  to artistic creativity. Finishing which embellishes  a book with artistry, is regarded more difficult but forwarding is the most  

important. Though the lettering and decoration contribute nothing to the life of the binding, they however identify the  book  and make it pleasing to  look and handle. Apart from the utility value of a good binding, forwarding gives pleasure in the compactness of the book the way in which it opens and the precision of execution, while finishing delights the eye by the brilliance of gold, the harmony of the colours and the form of decoration. Forwarding and Finishing include the following eight processes:  

• Collation 
• Sewing 
• Attaching covers 
• Endpapers 
• Gilding 
• Headbands 
• Hollow Backs 
• Finishing