How Can You Make Your Hardcover  Books Stand Out?

Do you know how you can make your hardcover book stand out? In the last year, 689 million books have been printed. That right, 689 million books, and that number is for the United States alone. So how can you make your hardcover book stand out amongst the crowd? 

With Custom Die Cutting! That’s right, custom die-cut books bring a unique aesthetic to your hardcover and softcover books.  I am going to show you 3 ways we can die-cut your books and give them a fun new custom design that will attract new customers.

In this day and age, many people believe that the internet has taken over printing. With more and more blogs and outlets of information coming online, it may seem that the internet is all you need. The truth is, the Internet consists of only a small percentage of what’s published.

Search engines such as Google, Safari, Firefox and Yahoo’s access to information is actually limited. ALA reported that only 8% of all journals and even fewer books are on the Internet.  That means that the most reliable scholarly information is available in books and journals. In a survey done by the Canon  printer-maker , Of the roughly 2,000 U.S. adult respondents, most preferred the tactile experience of reading a printed book.

Sixty-five percent of respondents, according to Canon, prefer physical books over e-books and audiobooks; 29% prefer e-books, while 18% prefer audiobooks.

What this means is, there is a high demand for hardcover books. With custom die cutting we can turn your book into a fun and interesting user experience, a secret hideaway for belongings or simply, a work of art.  Let’s jump right in.

Die Cut Holes in Books 

Do you remember Pat the Bunny? You know, the loveable children’s story we all grew up on written by Dorothy Kunhardt. With each page, there was an interactive element, maybe a fuzzy patch of cotton in the shape of a bunny or a hole in the shape of a ring you could try on. Well, this fun addition was achieved by die cutting holes into the book. And while you may not be pitching fuzzy bunny at your next business meeting you can certainly incorporate custom die-cut holes in your books for an added flare. 

In this example, we have cut two die-cut holes. One in the shape of a clover and one in the shape of a circle.

The clover is cut through the case of the book and nowhere else. You can see that the clover reveals the word “Book” written in blue foil. At Park Press Printers we can apply variable data to this page and create up to 5000 unique names foil stamped. For die-cut holes, we can cut up to 240pts in the cover. This can add an amazing effect to your hardcover books.

Die-cut holes don’t have to just be for the cover. We can also cut directly into the text sheets. The circle in this example is a 150point hole that is drilled through almost the entirety of this book. Starting with the cover. 

Odd Book Shapes

Drilling holes and shapes through books is just the tip of the iceberg. At Park Press Printers we can also die cut the exterior of the book. This is done with a technique called PMC Die Shaping or “High Die Cutting”.  The PMC Die is a 2 to 3-inch metal shape that cuts paper as it is pushed through. When thinking of PMC Die Shaping think of a giant cookie cutter. The process for High Die Cutting books is not much different from the steps of Straight Edge Binding which involve folding, collating, cutting, and binding. 

The only additional operation is the PMC Die Cutting. There are two advantages to die-cutting your book. The first is it looks great and is memorable for those who own it. In fact, it may even be considered a collector’s edition for some. The second is the cost is not much more than a standard book!  For just a little extra money you can drastically change the presentation of your book. 

High Die Cutting can be done on board books, hardcover books, and perfect bound books.

And before we move on I want to touch upon board books real quick. 

Board Books

Board books are printed on thick paper or paper boards (think children’s books).  

Board books are great for panoramas and landscapes because they achieve what no other binding method can. The lay-flat pages allow for an uninterrupted image through the spine.

Board books are the most indestructible of all books and binding styles and they are the easiest binding style to PMC shape into ovals, circles and whatever else.

Custom Hollow Books

It’s time to tap into your inner secret squirrel because we present to you custom hollow books! What’s this you say? Have you ever thought of having a secret storage space within your case bound book? Maybe you are writing a tale about pirates and treasure and want to have an actual treasure at the end of your story. With custom hollow books you can make this dream a reality. 

Much like the die-cut holes we spoke about earlier, we apply this same effect of drilling through the text pages, but instead of drilling to the end we do not penetrate the entire book. In this example, we have created a pen hollow. Custom Hollow books can be made to fit many shapes and objects and depending on the number of pages and the paper-weight we can get very creative. 

Conclusion

So that wraps it up. If you are looking to make a statement with your books then Die cutting is the way to go. Whether it is surface cuts, odd shapes, or secret storage spaces, Bonroy Printing has the solution for you.

source: parkpressprinters