If you know you want panels, spell it out. If you have never heard of panels but think the idea is interesting, we ll be glad to send you a volume that has panels. Stamped panels are not expensive and add quite a bit to the looks of a book. These are the small strips of colored cloth at the top and bottom of a book spine. The head is the top one and the foot is the bottom one.
Headbands are strictly decorative and serve no functional purpose.
They are, however, the mark of a quality book, and since they cost little approximately five cents per volume, we usually use them. We color coordinate the headbands with the binding so that they complement one another. Unless you have a specific choice for headbands, we suggest you let us choose and match them. If you look at a proof, you can tell exactly what your book will look like. For straightforward books, there should be no need for a proof.