Rigidity, strength and elegance

“The secret of my prestige shall remain my secret,” said the great artist Salvador Dalí. I would like a moustache equal to the great master’s, but I have to settle for this!
But today is a different day, I want to tell you why they call me Prestigious.
They say that the hardback cover that dresses me does confer importance and charm. It must be because of this characteristic of mine that I am chosen especially for volumes that require a certain rigidity: a catalogue, an art book or a luxury edition.

Flexibility and lightness.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my show! I am Stretchy, the contortionist of this fantastic group and the compromise between a hardback and a paperback.
You have certainly met me at least once in your life , most probably when you used textbooks or manuals back in school, or even during your travels with a guide.

Are you wondering why they call me Stretchy?
Well, flexibound is the right solution when it comes to covers. Mine is made with a printed and laminated 250-350 g/m2 cardstock or a bonded cloth, as in my case
…and still I am very flexible!

Lay-flat block, exposed spine and 45° cuts.

It is not easy to spot me in the bookbinding scene, but when you do, it will be hard for you to choose anything else. This is why I am Wanted.

Being a Swiss hardback, I attach myself to the book in an entirely different way compared to the classic and more frequent bindings such as paperbacks or hardbacks. As a matter of fact, only the lower surface of the book body is attached, so the inside front cover and the spine remain free to open flat on a table or book rest.

Softness, flexibility and lightness.

You have never felt anything softer, have you? Still, I am durable and versatile: sometimes looks can be deceiving!

Let me introduce myself: I am Soft, in name and in deed.

What makes me unique compared with the classic hardback? I am covered with soft materials, generally a rubber-based coagulate that offers a pleasant feel to the touch. However, I can also be made with a simple paper of appropriate grammage.

Visible raw-cut cardboard.

Hey gringo, come closer. I’m on the trail of some bandits, I should be after them by now, have you seen them by chance?

I am the sheriff, also known as Marked: you can see for yourself why!

Here I enforce the law of the raw-cut hardback. In this technique, three sides of the volume are cut, leaving the cover cardboard exposed.

The final cut makes the book block flush with the cover , so it does not project beyond the pages. In this case the cardboard becomes an aesthetic element, just like my scar, reminding me every day of the dangers of the Wild West!

Firmness and round spine.

…And I decorate everything with a sprinkle of chantilly cream!

And who are you? The commis chef?

Go buy the ingredients for Tiramisù Now!

What? Do you want to know something about the round spine hardback? You could have told me right away, I will tell you everything. Oh, I almost forgot: nice to meet you, I am Rounded.

I am completely different from the square-spine hardback (the one they call Prestigious), mostly because of my spine. In the past, different tools were used to get the typical rounded shape, allowing the outermost signatures to lay on the cardboard and prevent the excessive weight from damaging the block. Then ribbings were added to increase the tenacity of the volume.

Wrinkle-free spine.

I am thrilled to welcome you in my humble abode. Please, take a seat and accept a cup of tea.

I am Aesthete, brainchild of Gruppo Padovana, the flexycover paperback and the fanciest of all the volumes you have met so far.

My binding is achieved by gluing the cover to the endpapers with two paperboards without attaching the spine to the book block.

180° opening.

Hi guys! I am the winner, simply the best! My name is Tony Extreme and I am the universal Freestyle Motocross champion, but you can call me “Flat”. Why? … because I am the only one who managed to do the impossible “180° Tornado Flat Back-Flip” jump.
It is a crazy stunt with a run-up after a full-throttle straight at 180 kilometres per hour, whereI open my legs in a 180-degree angle with both hands attached to the handlebars. A flat angle indeed!

Actually, this is also a technique recently developed by Gruppo Padovana: they call it “180° binding,” since the pages of the book block open flat without forcing the spine, just like my stunt.

Easy to open and visible spine.

Bonjour mesdames et messieurs et bienvenues to the Moulin Rouge! I am Sassy, a Can-Can dancer. Tonight we will dance together, but first let me tell you what life is like in the Belle Époque for a raw-cut Bodonian with a visible spine like me.

My special feature is a refe stitching on the spine, which is made by running a thread from the outside of the signatures to the inside, holding them together to form the book block.

Easy to leaf through.

I am Illusionist, Master of Magic, and I will execute a number the world has never seen before. There is no trick, it’s all real. When I say Confundus, you will enter into a trance and forget everything you read on this page…
…1……2………3, CONFUNDUS!

Think about two types of packaging and don’t tell me which ones you have chosen…well…you have definitely thought of a Folder with Singer and Spiral book! This magic folder combines two different papers successively creased. There are two types of binding within.
The first two booklets are bound with spirals: the former is plastic and continuous, the latter is called “Wire-O” and is composed of coated wire loops. This technique is used for products that need to be easily leafed through, such as recipes, price lists, street maps, etc.

The other half of the magic folder features Singer stitching, the right solution when the block is too thin for sewn or milled paperback. The enchanted thread may be white or colored, creating contrasting or tone-on-tone colour play with the cover.
There are two different types of stitching: “saddle” stitching is Singer-sewn along the fold of the sheets, makes the book easy to open and the thread is visible both outside and inside; on the other, the “side” stitching is placed a few millimetres from the spine and all the sheets are sewn together. The spine can consist of the edges of the inner sheets or be of the same material as the cover.

When I say Confundus you will come out of the state of trans……1……2………3, CONFUNDUS!

Simplicity and versatility.

Biiip…Biiip…oh c’mon! I really can’t stand the daily traffic jam, I preferred when instead of using cars I hopped moving people inside my pocket. Hey you, where do you need to go? Hop on, I am Jumper, a folder with paperback books. So you want to go to Padua, don’t you? Fine then, the journey is long so in the meantime I can tell you more about my features.

I have a hard cover consisting of three pieces, turned in and finished inside with a previously glued die-cut paperboard which creates two pockets containing two paperbacks (or other types of lay-flat books, spiral-bound and Singer sewn).

Magnetic closure and easy to leaf through.

My. Name. Is. 01001101101. But. You. Can. Call. Me. Attractive.
I. Am. A. Very. Special. Robot. And. I. Came. Out. Of. The. Secret. Labs. Of. Gruppo. Padovana.
Mine. Is. A. Hidden. Ability. A. True. Superpower.
In. Fact. Under. All. This. Iron. You. Will. Find. Super. Magnets. And. Metal. Plates.
My. Cover. Consists. Of. Four. Pieces. Of. Raw. Cardboard. That. Are. Then. Covered.
The. Closure. Is. Achieved. Thanks. To. My. Superpower. Of. Magnets. Hidden. By. Blind. Debossing. In. The. Cardboard.

Elegance, 180° block, removable pages.

Dionaea muscipula; Heliamphora pulchella;
Darlingtonia californica; HELLO.
Come closer, relax and let yourself be rocked by my plants and roots, do not be afraid, nothing will happen to you… Would you like to taste a sip of my juice? it is very sugary and I am sure you will love it! My name is Daisybind, but you can call me Special, because I absorb the best features of other characters, which is why I am so elegant, refined and special.
For example, my block is made with 180° binding, which guarantees excellent opening and readability of the pages, with the possibility of separating them from the book block itself with a simple gesture. This is why these volumes are highly favoured as notebooks and notepads.

Softness, reversed quartos, and a perfect spine.

The samurai’s word is firmer than metal. I have taken an oath of honor with the daimyo, the lord of my lands, and I am willing to sacrifice my life in battle to protect my people. I am Bold, the samurai of the Japanese Otabind with flaps, which is a type of binding where the quartos are bound with the fold facing outward. This binding style comes from the Far East, and is used especially for catalogues and prestigious books. The reversed quartos allow the thickness of the block to be doubled, creating consistency and occasionally allowing the sheets to be bound like a paperback.