There are two tickets on an 8.5″ x 11″ page. Please note when completing binding tickets, these fields are mandatory:

• Name and Address Title (including Vol., Issue, Date, and any other info to be printed on spine)
• Material Color (please indicate by color number)    Library Summit Color Chart
• Stamp Color (Black, Gold, or White)
• New Title/Previously Bound by Houchen/Previously Bound by Other (please mark one)

Optional Fields are:

• Special Instructions for Houchen (if any)
• Collation Use Fields (highly discouraged as these entail additional charges)

When our bindery produces an order for any customer with periodicals, we return with the order pre-printed binding slips (example below). The customer keeps these filed. When submitting another volume of the title for binding in the future, the appropriate ticket is pulled from the file, and the variable information for the new volume is added. The ticket is attached to the book block bundle and boxed for shipment. Each volume has a unique ticket even if they are all of the same title. These tickets provide all the necessary information for our bindery to produce new bindings that will match the previous ones, and that will allow us to continue to match them in the future.

Please put all books in boxes with a total weight not exceeding 50 pounds each. On the tops of the boxes, write your institution or account name, “Houchen Bindery”, and the number of boxes in the shipment. Enclose the total number of books being sent in the box, along with a purchase order and any special instructions you may have.

WITHOUT A COUNT SHEET OR A LIST OF TITLES, HOUCHEN BINDERY LTD. CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RESULTING DISCREPANCIES.
⋅

• Textbooks: Securely box and label on top. Please box your library books separately from textbooks. Titles with quantities of 5 or more will be Text 4-Color Reproduction. Depending on volume and availability, this is subject to change to 10 or more without notice. Sets of 4 or less will be bound with plain covers. (More information under “Textbook Preparation Guidelines”.)

• Clearbind Realwraps: Uses entire paperback cover. Box all separately if you desire this method, and label on top and inside of box as “Clearbind Realwrap”. If paperback is in bad condition or there is excess tape, we may not be able to use the cover. If we are unable to clearbind realwrap, we attempt other methods to keep the book attractive.

• Clearbind Lamijac: Uses entire dust jacket. Box all separately if you desire this method and label on top and inside of box as “Clearbind Lamijac”. The same applies as with Realwraps regarding condition. It is very important that you remove dust jacket-tape, glue and plastic from books, remove and retain the blurbs, then put jacket back on the book.

• Color 4-Ever: Picture Perfect: Our graphics department creates a computer-generated cover appropriate for the title. This method is very popular versus a plain covered book. Box all separately if you desire this method and label on top and inside of box as “Picture Perfect”.

1. Download the Comic Book Binding Order Form.
   ⋅
2. Use the Comic Book Binding Instructions & FAQ to select options on the Order Form.
   ⋅
3. Complete one order form for each volume to be bound. Note: one volume is one set of comics to bind.
   ⋅
   
4. Ship your comics and completed order forms to:
   Houchen Bindery Ltd.
   ATTN: Comic Books
   340 First Street
   Utica, NE 68456
   ⋅
5. We will notify you as soon as we have checked in your order – this will not be the same day as delivery to the building. Once your books are complete we will send you an invoice and ship upon receiving payment.

Shipping

Upon completion of your order, we will ship using UPS or FedEx, whichever is least expensive to your area.

Note: We can ship anywhere in the world that UPS or FedEx will deliver to. All duties, tariffs, additional charges, etc will be paid by the customer.

Payment

We accept payment by check or credit card. Paypal is not accepted for comic book binding order. Payment is due at the completion of the order. In some cases we will ask for payment, either partial or in full, prior to completing the order.

Rebinding is still the best way to get the most out of your school district’s budget. We are always striving to serve our customers more effectively. Following these instructions will help us process your order more effectively.
⋅

• Please notify us in early April that you are expecting Houchen Bindery to rebind your books over the summer. All orders must be received by June 25th to guarantee that they will be returned by the start of school.
  ⋅
• Depending on location, you may be asked to ship orders of less than 100 books.
  ⋅
• Textbooks will be bound using PUR or Double Fan Adhesive Binding. Unless requested otherwise, All textbooks will be rebound using our T4C method, producing an attractive graphic cover for each book.  In rare cases, we may be unable to produce a graphic cover image if the supplied book is not in good shape or the cover is missing. In this case we will cover with Library Summit cloth and stamped lettering on the spine.
  ⋅
• Pack textbooks in boxes of 50 lbs or less. If you can’t lift it, we can’t either.
  ⋅
• Please do not remove the covers from books prior to sending them in. If your books are missing covers already, we can still rebind them, but having the original covers is helpful.
  ⋅
• Boxes must be accompanied by a textbook count sheet and a purchase order. If you need boxes, we can provide them for you at a reasonable rate.
  ⋅
• Please have separate purchase orders for textbooks and library books, and box library books separately. Library books may be held until all textbooks have processed to ensure all schools receive textbooks back in time for school to start. Please be patient with the delivery of your school library books. For a quicker turn around of your library books, consider sending them during the school year when we have a 30-day turnaround available.
  ⋅
• Mark on the boxes: school district, school name, and number of boxes (1 of 5, 2 of 5, etc).
  ⋅
• Ensuring accuracy of your order is very important to us. This is one of the reasons we ask our textbook customers to include a count sheet with their orders. In our production process, order and title quantities are counted by a team member a minimum of three times, and then a final count is done before orders are packaged for delivery. In the event of a counting discrepancy between our records and a customers, we attempt to contact the customer to inform them when the discrepancy is 5 or greater. Any discrepancies under 5 books will be processed and billed accordingly without making contact with the school.
  ⋅
• The count made at the bindery during processing will be the official count. No exceptions. If a book is damaged in the binding process, we will consider the replacement value to equal no more than three times the binding cost.
  ⋅

If you have any questions, please call our general office at (800) 869-0420. We will be happy to help with any questions or concerns you have.

Process

1. Send us your book(s), along with a $25 Evaluation fee per book, and a completed Restoration Form

2. Include your contact information and a letter with any special instructions

3. We will contact you within 14 days with a detailed quote and description of repairs to be made

4. Once approved, production will begin

5. Once your order is complete we will notify you to collect payment. Once payment is received, we

will ship your order.

The prices below are intended to be estimates of the costs of various services. Each project we handle is unique, so the quote provided may deviate from these prices.  All work requested ½ down at start of the project. Rush charges, if applicable, are 25% of total order.

Our Restoration minimum order charge is $95

Standard Bible (9 x 6): Leather $150+, Leather Look $125+

Family Bible (12 x 14 x 4 approx.): $500+

Atlases and Plat Books: Restore original covers with matching new spines and corners: $325+,

Smaller ledger-like books: $250+

Dictionaries, medical books, song books, children’s storybooks, law, etc. (8 x 10 x 2 approx.): $185+

Restoring children’s books with hinging of covers: $125+

All prices subject to change without notice.

Extra options

Hand set type: $0.50 small and $1 large per character and space with $8 minimum

Headbands: $1

Page repair: $5+ per page

Marbled endpapers: $15-20 per book

Rush order (2 weeks or less): 25% added to total order charge

Shipping:

We recommend insuring your package when you ship materials to us. You can also drop your books off in person. Return shipping will be handled by UPS, and we will insure the package for the invoice amount. We take great care when packaging our shipments, but any transportation of your materials involves some risk. We are not responsible for any damage caused in the shipping process.

Restoration Dept.
Houchen Bindery Ltd.
340 1st St.
Utica, NE 68456

• We stock lamination rolls that can accommodate paper in various sizes and that accommodate most of our standard requirements, but what we have in stock can change during different seasons of the year. So please check with your bindery representative before sending us printed materials for lamination. We will check current inventories and make sure we have the proper size lamination for your project.
  ⋅
• Provide at least ½” of white space on either the left or right edge of the untrimmed press sheet (see diagram).
  ⋅
• Paper stock supplied should be 100 lb gloss text weight (coated 1/s or 2/s).
  ⋅
• Provide a minimum of ¼” on both the top and bottom edges of the supplied press sheet (see diagram).
  ⋅

Design Considerations

There are some important practical considerations to follow when designing a printed, laminated cover for hard cover binding. Because lamination on digital, toner-based printing is not the same as lamination on offset printing, you should be aware of these considerations when designing for short run length, digital print jobs with film lamination. Toner is essentially a dust like material riding on top of the sheet of paper, whereas offset ink will blend with the paper and is much easier to laminate over. Lamination over several layers (C-M-Y-K) of toner can be challenging to say the least. After the book is cased in, it is critical to apply heavy pressure to the hinge area to ensure the glue bonds the cover tightly to the end sheets. There have been several advances in film laminate materials recently and many of the issues we have had in the past with de-lamination in the hinge area of the cover have been eliminated or greatly reduced.
⋅

Lay-Flat Lamination

There are different opinions in the marketplace about lay-flat lamination. We have been told by very reputable film lamination suppliers that a true lay-flat laminate has not really been made yet. We can only go from the experiences we have so far.

One point to consider is when laminating an extremely wide sheet of paper (such as a landscape format dust jacket). There may be the possibility of edges curling on the shorter and/or longer edges. When this occurs, and we cannot get the lamination to lay flat, the solution is to laminate the reverse side of the sheet as well. This will allow the sheer to lay-flat, but will be an additional expense. We will try to alert our customers to the possibility of this happening, but it is sometimes unpredictable and dependent on the artwork and print device that produced the job.

When submitting theses to the bindery through a binding ticket, please make your expectation is clear concerning lettering, and include a binding ticket with each title.

1. Using a tape measure, measure the exact length around the book. Start at the right edge of the front of the book, and wrap left around the spine to the edge of the back cover. Then measure the height of the cover. Write down this measurement.
   ⋅
2. Add an additional 1½” to the length and 1½” to the height. Cut a piece of paper the size of this second measurement.
   ⋅
3. Create your design, staying 1¾” from all the edges with any lettering or pictures, filling with color all the way to the edges of the paper. Media, chalk, watercolors, and acrylics have been used successfully. Be sure to spray chalk with fixative.
   ⋅
4. Letter the spine, using the exact center of the lengthwise dimension. Be sure to keep lettering small and print vertically if the spine is very narrow. Let the original cover be your guide.
   ⋅
5. Number the book and back of the cover you have created. Pack the covers so they do not slide or bend. Label the box of books that goes with the covers “Artisto Bind”.
   ⋅

And remember, have fun!

Cover weights:  Normal Paper: 50 lb text (81 gsm) up to 12 point (302 gsm)

Coated Paper:  70 lb text (104 gsm) up to  14 pt. (348 gsm)

How to deliver to bindery:

1-up books with 1/8″ extra on all 4 sides. Always use a brightly colored slip sheet divider between each set of books. We can accept loose collated single sheets (from a digital press) or collated, folded signatures (from an offset press).

—

View diagram and instructions about supplying pages for PUR Perfect Binding.

Have questions about a project?
Call 1-800-869-0420 or contact us online.

Cover weights:  Normal Paper: 50 lb text (81 gsm) up to 12 point (302 gsm)

How to deliver to bindery:

1-up books with 1/8″ extra on all 4 sides. Always use a brightly colored slip sheet divider between each set of books. We can accept loose collated single sheets (from a digital press) or collated, folded signatures (from an offset press).

—

Have questions about a project?
Call us at 1-800-869-0420 or contact us.

Soft Strip

This method uses a thin cardstock spine strip, equal to the thickness of the text bulk. This is often used on thicker books with jackets and textbooks. It creates a more “shouldered look,” as the spine is narrower than the front and back case boards.

Soft strip spine styles can be used on books bound with the following methods: Ultrabind, Oversew, Case Perfect, and Smythe Sewn.

Download Ultrabind Soft Strip cover template

Download Oversew Soft Strip cover template

Download Case Perfect Soft Strip cover template
⋅

Hard Strip

A Hard Strip is made from material that is the same thickness as the front and back case boards, but the spine width is slightly narrower than the text bulk. This will create a book with “shoulders” on the front and back case boards also.

Hard strip spine styles can be used with the following binding methods: Ultrabind, Oversew, and Case Perfect.

Download Ultrabind Hard Strip cover template

Download Oversew Hard Strip cover template

Download Case Perfect Hard Strip cover template
⋅

Hard Spine/Square Back

A Hard Spine/Square Back cover also uses a spine strip which is of the same weight board as the front and back case boards, but the spine is made 3/16″ wider than the text bulk. This creates a “square” look. It is often used on thin cased children’s books, trade editions, and nearly all side sewn books without jackets.

Hard Strip/Square Back spine style can be used with the following binding methods: Side-Sewn, Ultrabind, Oversew, and Case Perfect.

Download Side-Sewn Hard Spine/Square Back cover template (minimum thickness)

Download Ultrabind Hard Spine/Square Back cover template

Download Oversew Hard Spine/Square Back cover template

Download Case Perfect Hard Spine/Square Back cover template
⋅

Rounded Back

Rounded back books must be at least 1/2″ thick and will always be made with a soft spine. The rounding machine creates a slight curvature in the spine edge allowing a thicker book to have better open-ability.

Cover weights:  Normal Paper: 50 lb text (81 gsm) up to 12 point (302 gsm)

Coated Paper:  70 lb text (104 gsm) up to  14 pt. (348 gsm)

How to deliver to bindery:

1-up books with 1/8″ extra on all 4 sides. Always use a brightly colored slip sheet divider between each set of books. We can accept loose, collated single sheets (from a digital press) or collated, folded signatures (from an offset press).

—

View diagram and instructions on supplying pages for PUR Case Perfect Binding.

Have questions about a project?
Contact us at 1-800-869-0420 or through our contact form.

• 16 page signatures are required, with ¼” extra on the high side folio lip
• Book Size:  Min size of 4″ x 6″ (portrait orientation) and Max size of 10.5″ x 12″ (portrait orientation)
• Max Size “drop” Landscape: 10.5″
• Do not perforate the spine edge of signatures

• Minimum book size: 5.5″ x 8.5″
• Maximum book size: 11″ x 14″
• Coated or uncoated papers are OK
• Max thickness: 3″

How to deliver to bindery:

1-up with 1/8″ minimum extra on top, face and bottom edges, Bindery will sew in from the spine edge provided 3/16″. Also allow at least 5/8″ gutter margin to ensure all print and images are visible. Please use a brightly color slip sheet divider between each set.

How to deliver to bindery:

1-up books with 1/8″ to 1/4″ extra on top, bottom and face edge + no extra on spine edge . The bindery will side sew in 1/4″ from the edge provided. Always use a brightly colored slip sheet divider between each set of books.

—

View diagram and instructions about supplying pages for Side Sewn Binding.

Have questions about a project?
Call us at 1-800-869-0420 or contact us online.

How to deliver to bindery:

1-up books with 1/8″ to 1/4″ extra on top, bottom and face edge + a 1/16″ extra on spine edge for milling and notching. Always use a brightly colored slip sheet divider between each set of books.

—

Have questions about a project?
Call us at 1-800-869-0420 or contact us online.