SMYTH SEWING
When binding the pages in a hardback book, one of the commonest methods is smyth sewing, frequency followed by perfect binding. This particular method as pictured, is simply a standard saddle stitched book which is produced automatically on high-speed machines. We manufacture the cases.
We put these stitched books into the case binding machine, which is highly automated, which glues the outside front cover to the inside of the case and in the outside back, cover to the inside of the case. When you first look at it, it looks like a normal case bound, hard back book. Of course, because the job is saddle stitched it limits thickness. Maximum might be a quarter of an inch.
This method does not limit the stock weight or whether the size is 8 1/2 11 or smaller doesn’t really affect the end product. Overall, when you consider that saddle stitching is in many ways the cheapest by far when compared to saddle-sewing, side-sewing, flat-stitching, etc., taking a saddle-stitched book which is produced the high speeds and casing it into a normal case, is much cheaper than the other methods of binding the pages.