Do I Really Need a BindIt Hard Cover Crimper?
When binding hard cover books with a thermal binding machine the final
step is to place the hard cover into the hard cover crimper and tighten
it down. Although this step is unnecessary when using standard thermal
binding covers, it is very important when binding hard cover books. The
hard cover crimper accomplishes several important tasks that are
essential in providing a high quality finished hard book. Specifically,
the hard cover crimper is designed to do two primary things:
1. Immediately after removing your hard cover book from your thermal binding machine you place it in the bindit hard cover crimper.
At this point the glue is still hot and pliable and process of crimping
your book helps to force the glue up into the base of your book block
ensuring a strong and permanent bind while securely holding the pages
of your book in place. If you don?? use the hard cover crimper the
pages may fall out of your hard cover books after some use.
2. The hard cover crimper is designed to properly form the spine
of the hard cover book. If you look at a finished hard cover book you
will notice that at the base of the spine there is an indented area
that serves as a hinge allowing your book to open and close easily. The
hard cover crimper takes your book while it is still hot and properly
forms the spine of the hard cover giving it a finished look and
ensuring that your hard cover operates correctly.
In the absence of a hard cover crimper I have seen some customers use
an oven mitt to attempt to manually form the spine. It works, but it
doesn?? look great and all of them have ended up buying the hard cover
crimper in the end.