PRINTING PRACTICAL, LEISURE AND TRAVEL BOOKS AND GUIDES

Practical and leisure – Paper and images

Cookery, gardening, crafts, wellbeing, hiking, travel: a practical book is used, carried and handled regularly.
It generally calls for a binding that opens well and a cover that lasts.

A binding genuinely suited to the use

A cookery book on a worktop, a course open beside a piece of work in progress, or a compact guide that has to be opened and handled easily: the binding plays a particularly important part here.
For a conventional soft-cover book, PUR perfect binding or sewn binding are preferable, as they give good opening and a long life. To go further, with a wider opening and a book that stays open, choose Otabind or Integra binding — the latter having the advantage of a semi-rigid cover that copes with rucksacks and repeated handling.

Hardcover binding remains a classic, of course. Although less practical and less portable than a soft-cover book, it still opens very well and produces a sturdy, durable and — let us say it — nobler book. It is a wonderful binding for art books to give as a present or to treat yourself to.

Paper and images

Recipes, tutorials and other practical guides often rely on photography: a silk coated paper renders colours without distracting reflections under direct light. It is an excellent choice for this kind of book.
For gift books, and if you are after the most striking result possible on an uncoated paper, you can turn to LED-UV offset printing.

Compact guides such as travel guides often favour a light, opaque paper. We can help you balance weight, opacity and rendering — and we provide a digital paper swatch book and an offset paper swatch book so that you can judge the differences for yourself.

Printing practical and leisure books at Sepec, in brief

Cookery, gardening, craft and wellbeing books, hiking, travel and tourism guides.
Soft bindings suited to the use: PUR perfect binding, sewn and glued, Otabind or Integra.
For leisure art books to give or to treat yourself to: hardcover binding.
Silk coated papers for faithful rendering without distracting reflections, light papers for guides.
Laminated covers, flaps, rounded corners.
Offset and digital, from short runs to reprints.

Books that are reissued

Practical books live a long time and get updated: reprints, a new edition, a new year, revised pages.
We keep your files and handle reprints as well as revised editions, without starting from scratch. Your client area will be a valuable ally in making the process easier.

Which binding for which book?

Cookbook, method book	Otabind binding
Practical guide with a semi-rigid cover	Integra binding
Keenly priced guide	Perfect binding

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a book that stays open on a worktop?

Several solutions, depending on the result you are after: Otabind, which keeps the appearance of a paperback, wire-o, which opens through 360°, sewn and glued binding, more flexible than plain gluing, and why not exposed sewing, which opens perfectly flat and gives the book real character.

Which lamination for a cover that gets handled?

In every case, the laminating film protects the cover from marks and moisture.
A gloss film, a scuff-resistant matt film, or a soft touch if you are after a peach-skin feel, are the best suited to a book or a guide that is handled and carried a great deal. A standard matt film is less suitable, as it is far more prone to scratches and marks.

Coated or offset paper inside?

A silk coated paper is a good option for rendering photographs of recipes, travel or step-by-step guides while staying comfortable on the eye.
Offset is right if the book is mostly text and diagrams, and it takes pen annotation better.

Can specific elements be added?

Ribbon markers, rounded corners, detachable sections, flaps: tell us what you have in mind when you ask for a quote, and we will find the perfect combination together.