Patent Abstract:
A kit for manufacturing a stitch-bound printed book comprises a book cover ( 10 ), a collection of pre-perforated sheets ( 15 ) that can be printed to make up a printed bookblock ( 18 ), and endpapers ( 20   a,   20   b ) for assembling the printed bookblock in the cover. The pre-perforated loose sheets ( 15 ) have along one edge that corresponds to the book&#39;s spine a series of binding perforations ( 16 ). The pre-perforated loose sheets ( 15 ) are printable on one or both sides in an A4 printer to constitute printed pages of the book. A bookblock ( 18 ) is formed by reconstituting the printed pre-perforated pages as a collection with their perforations ( 16 ) aligned and by sewing through the perforations ( 16 ). This involves stitch-binding of individual sheets ( 15 ) instead of the usual stitch-binding of folded sheets, which makes it feasible to print the prepared collection of pre-perforated sheets using desktop publishing equipment. The kit lends itself to using adhesive contact paper for the endpapers ( 20   a,   20   b ) in place of the application of glue, making binding practical and convenient.

Full Description:
[0001]     The invention relates to manufacturing books particularly in the context of desktop publishing.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Today, desktop publishing in both the software and printing sectors has advanced to quality levels comparable to professional offset printing.  
         [0003]     Despite the fact that printing equipment, special quality paper and publishing software are readily available on the market, there remains one outstanding component that would complete desktop publishing operations: the binding of a desktop-printed book in a professional and traditional style.  
         [0004]     A traditional book has a collection of printed pages or bookblock mounted in a cover by endpapers which are pasted to the inside front and back covers of the book. The printed pages making up the bookblock are usually a series of folded over sheets or “sections” that are sewn together and assembled into the bookblock. Commercial binding produces these traditional books of good quality at a reasonable price for large series, but for individual books or books produced in small series the cost of binding is prohibitive.  
         [0005]     Thermal binding using hot melt adhesives has been widely used particularly for soft cover books. However, thermal binding does not produce a book having the same qualities as a traditionally bound book. U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,318 for example discloses an apparatus and method for hot melt binding.  
         [0006]     WO 92/02888 describes a computer based book manufacturing, distributing and retailing system wherein the text and images of a large number of books are  
         [0007]     stored in a computer, and individual books can be printed to command and bound in a thermal binder, enabling the delivery of a selected book to a purchaser in a short time.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,202 describes a book publishing kit for children, the kit including a number of sheets and templates permitting children to provide text and drawings to be forwarded for assembling and publishing as a book.  
         [0009]     A child&#39;s bookbinding kit has been marketed under the name “Story Plus”. This is intended primarily for children to produce a book including the child&#39;s paintings on folded-over sheets. The sheets have large openings for the child to sew the folded sheets together and assemble them into a book using glue.  
         [0010]     GB-A 2 221 196 describes making a book by folding printed sheets and wire-stitching them along the fold line, in replacement of prior techniques where the folded sheets were sewn along their fold line.  
         [0011]     JP-A-2002 178664 describes producing a book using a personal computer using a standard story that can be varied by the author, printing on a standard printer and then stapling together the printed sheets and sticking the outside sheet of the stapled printed sheets directly to a book cover.  
         [0012]     Various pieces of office equipment have been developed for clasping or attaching together sheets using plastic or metal securing elements, or by thermal binding. However the resulting assembled sheets are not comparable to the traditional book structure having a stitch-bound bookblock mounted in a cover by endpapers.  
         [0013]     There remains a need for a simple and easy-to-use book binding kit, which enables any individual or business to manufacture a bound book of traditional structure and of the quality found on the market, using existing desktop publishing equipment.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     The invention offers a solution to the problem of short-run printing and binding costs. It makes it possible to print and stitch-bind to professional standards one-book units at a price that was previously reserved for a large series of printed copies (two thousand or more).  
         [0015]     The invention provides a kit for manufacturing a stitch-bound printed book, whose principal components are a book cover, a collection of pre-perforated sheets that can be printed usually using a desktop printer of A4 format to make up a printed bookblock, and endpapers for assembling the printed bookblock in the cover.  
         [0016]     The first principal component of the kit is a book cover composed of a front and a back attached by a spine for accepting a bookblock formed from a collection of bound pages of corresponding size.  
         [0017]     The kit also includes a corresponding pre-perforated collection of loose single unfolded sheets for making up a bookblock that fits the book cover. The loose sheets have printable areas. They are usually blank sheets initially. Their size corresponds to a given printing format, for example A5, 21×21 cm, or A4, acceptable by available personal printers such as standard A4 desktop printers. The collection of loose sheets has, along one unfolded edge that corresponds to the book&#39;s spine, a series of binding perforations for accepting a binding thread. The loose unfolded sheets are printable on one or both sides with text, images or both to constitute printed pages of the book, using a normal desktop printer. The printed pages can then be bound to form the bookblock by reconstituting them as a collection with their binding perforations aligned and by sewing thread through the binding perforations.  
         [0018]     The remaining main components of the kit are: a pair of front and back endpapers i.e. including folded-over sheets forming board papers that are attachable to the inside front and back faces of the book cover for securing the bookblock—which is formed by sewing together the collection of loose pre-perforated printed sheets—to form the stitch-bound printed book; and peel-off adhesive layers for securing the bookblock to the front and back endpapers and for securing the front and back endpapers to the cover.  
         [0019]     Particularly when it is packaged for individual sales, the kit can also include a needle and thread, clamps for facilitating assembly, adhesive strips, a jacket, printed instructions and software. The parts of the kit can be sold together or individually.  
         [0020]     Manufacturing a book from a kit according to the invention involves stitch-binding of individual unfolded sheets instead of the usual stitch-binding of folded sheets. This makes it technicaly feasible to print the prepared collection of perforated sheets in an A4 printer. The kit also lends itself to using adhesive contact paper for the endpapers in place of the application of glue, simplifying and making binding practical and convenient.  
         [0021]     The kit according to the invention is suitable for all publishing and graphics software users, including home users and semi-professionals as well as professionals. Such users, who are already proficient with home printers and publishing software, will now have the opportunity of binding their own work in a professional-looking book.  
         [0022]     Writers, students, notaries, designers, small and medium sized companies whose professional activities often require them to use the services of a print-shop for single or small series will greatly benefit from the kit according to the invention.  
         [0023]     The kit according to the invention is suitable for sale via retail stores or directly over the internet. For instance, many web sites provide short stories and novels online to avoid printing and inventory management costs. Customized kits according to this invention can now be sold online by these web sites so their customers can produce a proper stitch-bound book.  
         [0024]     Also, outlets for “print-on-demand” books can use the kits with customized cover designs for binding the individually printed books. This print-on-demand method is both financially and environmentally advantageous because it excludes all risks of overstocking and waste of paper. Using the kit according to the invention, print-on-demand books can now be stitch-bound at reasonable cost.  
         [0025]     Further features of the inventive kit for manufacturing a book and the steps for manufacturing a book from the kit, as well as further aspects of the invention, are set out in the claims and in the following description. The claimed further aspects of the invention include a collection of pre-perforated sheets to be used for manufacturing a stitch-bound book, and a method of manufacturing a stitch-bound book in particular using desktop publishing equipment. The stitch-bound book is preferably, but not exclusively, a hard-cover book where the bookblock formed from the printed pre-perforated sheets is mounted in the cover by end papers. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]     In the accompanying schematic drawings, given by way of example:  
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is an overall view of a book manufacturing kit according to the invention, showing the components separately and not to scale; and  
         [0028]     FIGS.  2  to  7  illustrate successive steps in the assembly of a book, after the collection of pre-perforated sheets has been printed.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0029]      FIG. 1  shows the individual components of one embodiment of a book manufacturing kit according to the invention, namely a hard-back cover  10 , a pre-perforated collection of loose single sheets  15  of paper, front and back endpapers or “guard pages”  20   a , 20   b , a cover jacket  25 , a needle  30  and thread  31 , two clamps  35 , a double or single sided adhesive strip  40  for reinforcing the cover spine, and a double-sided adhesive strip  45  for covering the sewn edge of the collection of sheets  15  when it: is formed into a bookblock. These components can be sold/delivered together in one or two boxes containing also printed instructions and/or software.  
         [0030]     Software when included may contain assembly instructions and/or a demonstration illustrating the assembly process as well as printing instructions including protocols for standard printers, prompts for placing the paper correctly, etc. Moreover, especially in the case where the kit is designed to produce a book on a specific theme, the software can include standardized texts and/or images that can be merged into the user&#39;s input to produce the book&#39;s themed content. Typical themes would be for creating the person&#39;s own biography, presenting recipes, vacation souvenirs, anniversaries, or other events or subjects.  
         [0031]     The illustrated book cover  10  is a hard-back cover made of cardboard, plastics material, leather or imitation leather, or covered therewith. It is usually plain but can also be printed on the outside, e.g. with customized cover designs useful for individuals or businesses who want to produce a series of books with a special cover. The cover  10  can alternatively be a paperback or magazine-type cover. A soft cover will usually employ a paper weighing 180-200 g/m2.  
         [0032]     The illustrated cover  10  has a rigid front  11  and back  12  connected by a spine  13 . The width and height of the cover&#39;s front  11  and back  12  may slightly exceed the dimensions of the collection of sheets  15 , and the thickness of spine  13  is chosen according to the intended number of pages of the book. A hard-back cardboard cover  10  like the one shown has, on its inside, folded over edges  14  leaving uncovered central parts  17  that will be covered in the final book by outside sheets of the endpapers  20   a , 20   b  forming so-called board-papers.  
         [0033]     The collection of sheets  15  is usually made of A5, 21×21 cm format, or A4 paper, all printable in standard A4 printers. A4 is a practical maximum size adapted to usual desktop printers. The paper is usually good quality “ink jet” paper, typically weighing at least 100 g/m 2 , preferably at least 120 g/m2. Paper of 135 g/m2 gives excellent results as it permits high quality recto-verso printing on standard printers and is not likely to warp when printed. Ink-jet paper is prefered for kits sold to the public as ink jet printers are in more widespread use by individuals. Sheets of a quality specially intended for laser printing can also be used, in particular for professional users.  
         [0034]     The collection of sheets  15  has, along and in the proximity of one edge that corresponds to the book&#39;s spine  13 , a series of binding perforations  16  for accepting the binding thread  31 . This thread  31  is standard white binding thread, and can be supplied in a length of, say, 500 cm. The perforations  16  are of corresponding narrow diameter, about 1-2 mm, able to accept a double thickness of the thread  31 .  
         [0035]     The perforations  16  are pre-perforated for example by punching or drilling packets of the sheets of paper, before they are separated into collections of a given number of sheets that are included in the kit. The perforations  16  are suitably spaced from the edge of the sheets  5 , ay by about 2-4 mm. They can be uniformly distributed along the side of the sheets  15 , or can have another distribution, for instance spaced wider apart in the middle. The spacing and distribution of the perforations  16  can be adapted according to the length of the book spine  13 , the intended number of pages, the thread specifications and the paper weight. Typical spacing of the perforations  16  is in the range 3-18 mm.  
         [0036]     The perforations  16  are so arranged that when the collection of sheets  15  is reassembled after printing the corresponding perforations  16  can be aligned only by placing the sheets in their original orientation. This is conveniently achieved by having a perforation at one end with a different spacing than the others, so it is necessarily out of register if the sheet is inverted.  
         [0037]     The double-sided adhesive strip  40  has a length equal to the length of spine  13  and a width of, say 80 mm which is suitable for all spine widths.  
         [0038]     The double-sided adhesive strip  45  has a length equal to the spline-forming edge of the sheets  15  and a width of, say, 30 mm which is suitable for the thickness of the collection of sheets  15  to be bound.  
         [0039]     The endpapers  20   a , 20   b  serve for assembling the book in the traditional manner. Each endpaper  20   a , 20   b  is a folded-over sheet of double the dimensions of the sheets  15 , having an adhesive on one or both of its outer faces protected by a peel-off layer  21  (see FIGS.  5 / 7 ). Having an adhesive and a peel-off layer  21  on both outer faces is advantageous from the manufacturing standpoint, as the endpaper  20   a , 20   b  can be made simply by folding an adhesive sheet twice the size of sheets  15 . Having two adhesive outer sides also serves to firmly attach the bookblock  18 .  
         [0040]     The pair of clamps  35  are simple metal or plastic butterfly clamps that serve to secure the collection of pages  15  between the cover  10  in a temporary position for facilitating sewing together of the collection of pages.  
         [0041]     The cover jacket  25  is like those fitted on traditional books except that it can be left blank for printing by the user. It is typically made of ink-jet (or laser) quality paper say from 135 g/m 2  to 200 g/m 2  with a matt or gloss outer surface. Its dimensions exceed twice the dimensions of the book cover  10  so it can be fitted on the finished book by folding it over the edges of the front and back  11 / 12 . The cover jacket  25  will exceed A4 dimensions and is initially folded in a configuration corresponding to a flat dimension that can be accepted by a standard A4 printer. The jacket  25  is thus pre-folded to A4 dimension or less and placed in the printer with the fold entering first.  
         [0042]     The size of the sheets  15  corresponds to the size of the cover  10 , and the number of sheets  15  included in a kit for individual sale corresponds to the width of the spine  13 . Several examples of the dimensions of the various components are tabulated below by way of example. In each case the spine  13  can be provided in several standard dimensions corresponding to a number of pages of paper of given weight in a given range. The kit will usually be supplied with the maximum number of sheets corresponding to the width of spine  13 , or more, leaving it to the user to produce a book with less pages. Excess pages can be used for trial printing.  
         [0043]     For multiple users, the kit can be supplied with several covers  10  of the same size or of different sizes, and with packages of the perforated sheets  15  whose dimensions correspond to the size(s) of the supplied covers. These packages can be divided into the requisite number of sheets when each book with a given cover  10  is being manufactured.  
         [0044]     The width of spine  13  determines the number of pages to be bound, for paper of a given weight. Taking 135 g/m2 paper as an example, a 7 mm spine of a hard-back cover can accomodate say about 15-25 pages; a 10 mm spine about 25-30 pages and a 12 mm spine about 30-50 pages. Soft back covers can accommodate from 5 pages.  
         [0045]     Specimen dimensions (in millimetres) for three book formats are given by way of example in the following Tables, namely AS Portrait in Table I, AS Upright in Table II and A4 Upright in Table III. In the Tables, “Length” refers to the spine direction. Of course, any sub-A4 format can be accepted.  
                                                                 TABLE I                           BOOK FORMAT: A5 PORTRAIT                Length   Width                            Covers 11, 12   155   210           Sheets 15   148   210           Strip 40   148   80           Strip 45   148   30           Jacket 25   155   450 folded                Endpapers 20a, 20b   A3 cut lengthwise and folded                      
 
         [0046]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE II 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 BOOK FORMAT: A5 UPRIGHT 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Length 
                 Width 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Covers 11, 12 
                 215 
                 148 
               
               
                   
                 Sheets 15 
                 210 
                 148 
               
               
                   
                 Strip 40 
                 210 
                 80 
               
               
                   
                 Strip 45 
                 210 
                 30 
               
               
                   
                 Jacket 
                 215 
                 320 folded 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Endpapers 20a, 20b 
                 A4, folded 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0047]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE III 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 BOOK FORMAT: A4 UPRIGHT 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Length 
                 Width 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Covers 11, 12 
                 302 
                 210 
               
               
                   
                 Sheets 15 
                 297 
                 210 
               
               
                   
                 Strip 40 
                 297 
                 80 
               
               
                   
                 Strip 45 
                 297 
                 30 
               
               
                   
                 Jacket 
                 155 
                 450 folded 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Endpapers 20a, 20b 
                 A3, folded 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0048]     Before the kit is assembled into a stitch-bound book, the pre-perforated sheets  15  are printed by the user to create the desired content of the book consisting of text and images, using a standard A4 desktop printer. Creation of the book content according to a given theme can be assisted by software provided with the kit, as previously mentioned. For printing, the user will usually be familiar with the performance of his printer and only has to set the print command to accept the particular format of the sheets  15  (A5, 21×21 mm, or A4, for example), and orient the sheets according to the printer&#39;s specifications. The visible perforations  16  along one edge of the sheets  15  assist the user in selecting the proper feed orientation. The kit can also include instructions to assist the user in printing.  
         [0049]     When the endpapers  20   a , 20   b  are provided on both outside faces with adhesive protected by peel-off sheets  21 , the front face of the first page of the book and the rear face of the last page of the book are left blank, either by a print command or by removing these sheets from the collection of sheets to be printed and putting them back after printing. The other sheets can all be printed recto or recto-verso. For recto-verso printing, the user will follow the prescribed routine for his printer, e.g. by passing the packet of sheets  15  twice through the printer if the latter does not print recto-verso automatically. Recto-verso printing may also be assisted by the user&#39;s desktop publishing software or by software supplied with the kit.  
         [0050]     The principal steps in the assembly of the book are illustrated in FIGS.  2  to  7 .  
         [0051]     After printing, the pre-perforated sheets  15  are assembled in a block with their perforations  16  aligned. For this, the user collects the sheets into a block and gently taps the edges against a flat surface until a perfect register is obtained, which can be seen by looking through the perforations  16 . If a sheet is incorrectly placed, this can be seen as the corresponding perforations in the other sheets will be out of alignment. The user can then re-orient the sheet in question, re-constitute the block and bring the perforations  16  into register. The collection of printed sheets  15  is then placed in the cover  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 2  and clamped in place as shown in  FIG. 3 , using the clamps  35  to hold the cover&#39;s front  11  and back  12  together, with interposed pieces of cardboard  36  to protect the cover  10 . By applying a ruler against the edges of the sheets  15  just before the block is clamped, the perforations  16  can be perfectly aligned. In the clamped position, the perforated edge of sheets  15  is allowed to protrude from the cover  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0052]     With the sheets  15  firmly clasped in this way, the user then sews them together by passing thread  31  through perforations  16  using the needle  30 . The thread  31  is passed through the first perforation  16  and the tail  32  of thread  31  attached to a clamp  35 . The needle  30  is then passed through each succesive perforation  16  all along the edge of the sheets  15 , and then back. The thread  31  passes from one perforation  16  to the next forming a double stitching  33  over the opposite faces of sheets  15 , leaving spine  19  free. When this double stitching  33  is finished, the thread  31  is tied with a double knot  34  as indicated in  FIG. 3   a , attached to the side of the spine  19 , and the excess thread  31  cut.  
         [0053]     At this stage, the collection of pre-perforated printed sheets  15  constitutes a bookblock  18  whose sewn spine  19  is then covered and reinforced by the strip  45 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . For this, the user removes the protective peel layer  47  from one face of the adhesive strip  45 , centres it so it overlaps the spine  19  evenly, places the exposed adhesive face of strip  45  on the spine  19  and presses the adhesive edges of the strip  45  against the opposite faces of the sheets  15  adjacent spine  19 .  
         [0054]     The next step is to attach the endpapers  20   a , 20   b  to the bookblock  18  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The outer protection  48  of strip  45  is removed, at least on the upper face to be attached first. The protective peel-off layer  21  on the inside of the front endpaper  20   a  is also removed, uncovering its adhesive face. The inside sheet of endpaper  20   a  is then stuck on the non-printed front page of bookblock  18 . The same operation is then repeated, to stick the inside sheet of the endpaper  20   b  to the last page of the bookblock  18 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , this forms an assembly of the bookblock  18  and endpapers  20   a , 20   b  where one half of each endpaper  20   a , 20   b  is stuck to the respective outer face of bookblock  18  and the other half of each endpaper  20   a , 20   b  is ready to be stuck to the respective inside face of cover  10 .  
         [0055]     Alternatively, if the endpapers  20   a , 20   b  have a protected adhesive only on their outer face, the inside of the endpapers  20   a , 20   b  can be stuck to the bookblock  18  by the adhesive on the outside faces of strip  45 . This leaves the front and rear page of book-block  18  uncovered, so that in this case these pages can be printed, if desired.  
         [0056]     To attach the assembled bookblock  18  and endpapers  20   a , 20   b  to the cover  10 , one of the strip  40 &#39;s protective peel-off layers is removed and the adhesive strip  40  is stuck along the spine  13 . Then the strip  40 &#39;s outer peel-off layer  41  is removed, leaving an exposed adhesive layer  42  on spine  13 . The bookblock&#39;s spine  19  is then aligned with the cover&#39;s spine  13 , making sure it is centred as accurately as possible and, of course, in the proper orientation. The bookblock spine  19  covered with the adhesive strip  45  is then applied with slight pressure against the spine  13 &#39;s adhesive layer  42 , until they are well fixed together.  
         [0057]     Then, holding the bookblock  18  upright with the cover  10  lying flat as shown in  FIG. 7 , the protective peel-off layer  21  is removed from the outside of one of the endpapers  20   a , 20   b , as indicated for illustrative purposes on the upstanding bookblock  18 . Holding the endpapers  20   a , 20   b  in upright position, a ruler  23  is inserted between the two sheets of one of the endpapers, as shown for endpaper  20   b . The outer half  24  of the endpaper  20   b  is then allowed to drop gently onto the inside of the cover back  12 , at the same time running the ruler  23  over the back  12  as indicated by the arrow. This sticks the endpaper&#39;s outer half  24  on the cover back  12  as a so-called board paper, without any creases. The same operation is then repeated with the remaining endpaper  20   a  to stick its outer half on the front  11 .  
         [0058]     The fully assembled book is then placed under a flat weight, for instance a pile of books, leaving the spine  19  on the exterior, for a period sufficient to consolidate the binding, say 24 hours.  
         [0059]     The finished book has the advantageous structure of a traditional stitch-bound book characterized by the stitch-bound bookblock  18  mounted by the endpapers  20   a , 20   b , but thanks to the invention individual books or small series of books can now be manufactured at a fraction of the cost making use of available desktop publishing equipment.  
         [0060]     The described assembly procedure can be easily mastered by adults and children with no prior book binding experience. It is even possible with a little practice to assemble a book in a comparable time to that taken for binding a book using an office hot-melt binder.  
         [0061]     The invention unites recent desktop publishing technology with traditional bookbinding techniques to create a new and much-needed possibility of presentation for desktop publishers.  
         [0062]     Many variations are possible. In general a stitch-bound book can be manufactured according to the invention using a bookblock formed from the collection of printed pre-perforated sheets and binding the bookblock in a cover. Preferably, the bookblock is mounted in a hardback cover using endpapers as described, but it could be mounted otherwise in a softback or in a magazine-type cover.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1