Hardcover Binding for
One-of-a-Kind Books
(you print)
Item Number — BKB-01
What the heck is this?
It’s simple:
You’ve written the Great American Novel and no one will publish it.
Why?
Because today’s book publishers tend often to be NOT THE BRIGHTEST BULBS IN THE STRING. The block-buster best-sellers that have been rejected and rejected and rejected over years or even decades by publishing house weener-dudes, only to hit the big-time when they’re finally released, number in the hundreds, or thousands. Just because your book hasn’t (yet) been “accepted” for mass publication, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth reading. Bind it and distribute it to friends and family. It’ll make a great coffee table book, an interesting conversation piece, or a perfect little gift. This is also a great option for family tree books, for company manuals, even for classy catalogues of high-end retail merchandise. It’s the perfect solution for displaying your poetry, or for your most special photographs.
We’re not a mass publisher, nor are we a vanity press (shudder).
We simply bind one-of-a-kind books for a very reasonable price.
What method of binding do we use?
We’ve been binding one-of-a-kind hard-cover books for many years. We’ve tried, used (and rejected) probably every method ever devised. Some binding methods produce a strong and reliable bind–but are unsuitable for books-on-demand because of the complexities of setup. Many binding methods, such as thermal, Channelbind, and others, are suitable for one or two or a handful of copies because they require little or no setup. Unfortunately, those methods suffer from reliability issues.
Much of our staff comes from a deep-sea diving background; some come from law enforcement; some from aviation (helicopter crop-dusting). All of these fields are “do or die” types of occupations. The individuals employed in those fields learn quickly to only use means and methods which work. Every time. No matter what. Consequently, we tend to recognize even the possibility of flaws in systems, and through our years of binding books, we have never, ever found a book-on-demand method which completely and totally satisfied us in terms of reliability. Until now.
There’s an old saying: If you want it done right, do it yourself. So we did. Over the years we’ve developed a binding method which we believe is stronger and more reliable than anything on the market today. The only way one of our hard cover bindings will slip a page is if you literally tear it out of the book. We can even print on tear-proof paper which solves even that contingency! In aviation, in law enforcement, in deep-sea diving, one’s gear must work. Every single time. It must never, ever break down or fail. And we’ve designed our hardcover books with exactly those requirements in mind.
Do we print the pages, or do you?
You print and supply the pages. (To have us print the pages, please go here.) Anyone with a printer can do it. And by printing the pages yourself, you’re sure to get them exactly as you want them with no worries and no hassles. Use 8.5 x 11 inch (standard) letter sized paper. Print on both sides if possible.
We like to see a margin of, say, 1 inch on left and right (otherwise you’ll be trying to read your text down in the crack of the book near the spine), and about an inch top and bottom. We used to offer a template for download which was set up with an offset margin (a wider margin on the binding side). Unfortunately, many customers tweaked and changed the margins until they were unsuitable for binding. Now we just recommend a 1″ margin all around, for simplicity’s sake. You’re welcome to print your pages with offset margins if you wish–just remember we need at least 1″ from the spine.
The “number” of pages doesn’t ordinarily concern us — up to about 600 pages (300 sheets) will work, assuming standard 20lb. (or so) paper. (For manuscripts approaching 300 sheets please contact us by email before sending the ms; we’ll need to confirm measurement of the stack to be sure it doesn’t exceed the width of the largest binding). The minimum sheet count is about 15.
Simply print your pages and snail-mail them to the address on our “CONTACT US” page. Pay online using a credit card by clicking the gold button below, or enclose a check, money order, etc., with your manuscript for $31.60, payable to TrixiePixGraphics (includes shipping). Allow time for checks to clear, of course.
We stock only black. Other colors, sizes and orientations are available by special order at a significantly higher price, requiring a longer lead time (as much as five or six weeks).
By ordering a standard, letter-size book, in black, with a portrait orientation, you’ll receive your hardbound book in a week or ten days from the moment we receive your manuscript (sometimes in as little as a few days).
Please take all precautions to protect your manuscript enroute. An ideal shipping box is the box your blank sheets came in; then place that into a larger shipping carton and pad it well. Shipping carriers often play Frisbee and football with your packages (you think we’re kidding, don’t you!). While we can press the pages for a few days or a week to smooth out any wrinkled or crinkled pages, you’ll still end up with a flatter, better book by not allowing your pages to become “messed up” in the first place.
If you’d like to print a paper book-cover while you’re waiting, the hardcover dimensions are: 11.25″ tall, by 17.25″ across the back for a 100 page book. Add a little across the back for a thicker book. Be sure to add at least 4 inches on each end to wrap around inside the cover. Total dimension across the back should be, then, about 26 inches or greater.
We do not offer cover or spine printing, or embossing.
We no longer offer volume discounts; please do not inquire.
This may look like an impressive test of a binding. It sort-of is, but mostly isn’t. Any book ought to stand up to a single-page pull test. And of course ours do. But ours would hold up to a great deal more if the page itself wouldn’t tear first.
Regrettably, we no longer post our address on our CONTACT US page. Upon receipt of your book-binding order you’ll receive an email containing our shipping address. Simply mail your manuscript to that address.
TrixiePixGraphics 