I spend a lot of time reading and most of it is on the screen of my computer, iPad or phone. But when I am strongly interested in the visual content of a book, I insist on a hard cover book, preferable layflat or Smyth bound. It is far easier and more enjoyable to explore photography, art and architecture in a real book.
In the printing industry, the term for the cover of a book is the case and most cases are made in the same way. Cardboard reinforcements, slightly larger than the book block, are cut for the front, back and spine of the book. They are glued to the back of the cover material which is then wrapped around the edges of the cardboard and tucked in at the corners.
The PraDeka XL from Schmedt is a semi-automated case making machine that works well for moderate volume personalized book manufacturing. As you can see in the picture at the right, the cover, with adhesive on the back, is placed face down on the machines vacuum table and the cardboard is place within the alignment guides. Pressing a footswitch pulls the cover into the turning section which wraps the top and bottom edges. After tucking in the corners by hand, the operator turns the book 90 degrees and presses the footswitch again to wrap the left and right edges.
This is easier to demonstrate than to explain and the video below from Schmedt's YouTube channel is very easy to understand.
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