A board book is printed on thick paper or paper board (think of children’s’ books). Sheets are printed on only one side and the same stock weight is used for both the cover and interior pages. Each page panel is a minimum of two thicknesses of the one-side printed sheets. Press sheets are cut to the open size of the book (plus trim) and then scored and folded in half with the print side in. The 4-page folded sections are full-surface glued together; the cover is wrapped around and glued. The finished books are then trimmed on three sides.
Why design a board book?
To grab and retain attention! Outside of children’s books, this type of book is rarely considered for marketing purposes. One of the best features of board books is that there is a guaranteed line-up of images on crossovers and that the style of book spine allows board books to lie flat when open (see image below).
Success story
The images above show a board book we made for a condo developer. This customer required the graphic designer and printer (our client) to design and produce 7,000 books that allowed the product to:
- Display photos more effectively
- Lie flat, when opened, on a coffee table
- Differentiate the product advertised from others in the marketplace
Features
- Pages are …VERY thick … up to 60pt!!!
- Square spine allows for superb shelf display
Benefits
- Board books are great for panoramas & landscapes because they achieve what no other binding method can: layflat pages with uninterrupted images through the spine!
- Board books are the most indestructible of all book/binding styles—that’s why they’re used 99% of the time for children’s’ books.
- Board books are the easiest binding style to PMC shape into ovals, circles etc. (see image below)
Factors to Consider
- All sheets are printed only one side
- Page counts can be misleading as we handle it as 4 pagers until they are glued to one another to become 2 pagers.
- Board book thicknesses range from 3/8” to 3” thick
- Board book sizes range from 2” square to 14” square
- Board books can be edge-stained or gilded