Adhesives, Stitching and Fastening Materials
This domain tests which adhesive or fastener suits a job, how it is applied, and why over-application causes as many failures as under-application.
Adhesives and behaviour
- Starch paste: slow, water-based, reversible, archival; for paper repair, endpapers and lining.
- PVA: strong, flexible, quick-setting, not reversible; for spine lining, casing-in and box work.
- Hot melt EVA: perfect binding, applied at roughly 160–180 °C with a short open time.
- PUR: strong, flexible and lay-flat, moisture-curing, for quality paperbacks.
- Double-sided tape and spray adhesive: clean and fast, but weak in shear and poor for long life.
Application rules
- Spread thin and even; paste both paper surfaces where cockling matters.
- Avoid squeeze-out into the joint or onto the text edges.
- Press the work until the adhesive has set.
Stitching and fastening
- Saddle wire (24/6) through the fold, stitches about 8–10 mm apart.
- Section sewing with linen thread, kettle stitch at each end, tapes about 10 mm wide.
- Side stitch about 5 mm from the spine edge.
- Rivets, eyelets, ring binders and plastic combs for loose-leaf work.
Worked example
Perfect bind a 200-page A5 book. The block is about 10 mm thick. Roughen or notch the spine 1.5 mm deep so the glue forms keys, apply EVA at about 170 °C, wrap the cover within the open time, press, then trim 3 mm on three sides. Skipping the notching makes the pages pull out in use.
Traps
- Too much glue, which stiffens the spine and squeezes onto the edges.
- Hot melt applied too cool, so the book sheds pages.
- Using irreversible PVA where a reversible archival repair is needed.