Typeset Printing and Binding: Typeset Presses Offer New Avenues in Book Production

A book is a medium through which data is recorded either in the form of written text, images or both, usually bound together and encased by a cover. The technical term for such an arrangement is codex. In much more general terms, a book comprises a collection of printed texts (or other medium) on a particular subject with at least one additional printed volume for references. While this seems rather redundant on the face of it, there are many advantages of using this medium.

Firstly, the fact that one book comes with a pre-printed spine is rather obvious. This reduces the amount of time and cost involved in creating the spine for the book (the image that the printed text is printed on). This can save print shops considerable costs as well as improving the quality of the finished product.

Secondly, books are a convenient way to record information, whether it be written or images. Photographs can often be printed onto regular paper and then framed or tied together with tissue paper and then inserted into a book. However, such a process can be time consuming and messy. By using a printing press to bind the photographs or text, the writer can then use a stapler to create a nice bound together look. The advantage of such a process is that all the images will be consistent throughout, without the need to change margins, tables or binding.

Thirdly, books provide a means of preserving family history, particularly for young children who would otherwise have no way of storing up their books or stories. A child’s first story may not be suitable for publication, but his or her imagination will run riot. In this situation, a book allows the reader to experience the story and associated characters from the point of view of the young child. This is very different from situations where a child has grown up reading adults’ novels and is now experiencing something fresh. By using a printing press to create hard-bound editions of children’s stories, those readers can relive the stories as if they were experiencing them themselves.

Fourthly, many writers begin their careers with a manuscript rather than a printed manuscript. Some still prefer to have the printed manuscript, but others prefer the hard bound alternatives. By using various typeset methods on a manuscript, these writers can better control the look of the finished book. For example, some typeset printers will bind the manuscript in a three-ring binder while others will bind the manuscript in a one-ring binder and others will bind the manuscript in an eight-ring binder. Because the pages can be easily identified, the end result of a manuscript bound in a traditional two-ring binder can still be distinguished from the end result of a book bound in a different method.

Finally, there are some book typesetting options beyond the standard typesetting found in mainstream print publishing. These include catalog printing and catalogueuing. Catalogues (or encyclopedias) are booklets that are designed to be thin and compact while still maintaining a high level of organization and accessibility. Booklets are a slightly different situation, in that some specialize in the publication of short works while others will print anything from the full dictionary of the English language. Because of this, many authors who are self-publishers may choose to work with printing companies or other typeset media for their manuscripts and the printing and binding process.