With Casematic range it is possible to make covers from Letterhalf to Letter sizes. Fastbind Casematic XT produces also large format covers up to SRA3 portrait or A4 landscape. Maximum thickness for the cardboards is 3 mm.

Fastbind offers high quality tacking paper for cover printing

It is recommended to use Fastbind’s high quality tacking sheets for best results. The printable sheets are available for laser and inkjet printers. The laser sheet Standard size is 329 x 500 mm and Large format 326 x 660 mm. The inkjet sheet Standard size is 329 x 530 mm and Large format 329 x 660 mm. Printable tacking sheets are first designed, then printed, laminated (recommended) and trimmed before making a hard cover.

Layout design

When designing a cover layout there are a few rules to keep in mind. Cover layout depends on books width, height and thickness and includes necessary allowances for proper folding. See the design graphic to understand required margins and proper placing. Note that some printers do not print on the whole paper area. Instead they leave usually a 3 mm margin on every side that is not printed on even though the file layout is designed to cover the whole surface.

! Verify the maximum sheet size for your printer from the technical specifications section of your printer’s operating manual!

The biggest possible printing sheet size (A3, SRA3, 488 x 329 mm, Ledger or other) may limit the book sizes you can produce. It is not possible to make an A4 or Letter sized hard cover book if your printer can only make A3 or SRA3.

The path from an idea to a hard cover

• Design the cover tacking sheet
• Print, laminate and trim the tacking sheet
• Switch on Casematic
• Adjust the guides
• Remove the silicon paper from the tacking sheet and registrate it to the light table
• Lower the spine guides
• Place the cover boards and spine stick on the support rail and press them against the tacking sheet
• Slide the tacking sheet away from the support rail to let the boards and stick fall off the rail
• Cut the corners
• Fold the sheet edges (pinch the corners before folding short edges)
• Mount the cover case
• Press along the spine with your forefinger and thumb to make a neat fold

Adjustable spine guides

For precise positioning Casematic has two spine guides and a rear guide, which are adjustable. An optional a side guide is also available. Spine guides are lowered and lifted by turning the hand wheel.

Before making a cover, the spine guides are adjusted according to book size and placement of the registration marks. The side and rear guide are applicable in serial production and whenusing opaque materials.

Light table helps with adjusting

Light table has a scale which helps with the adjusting. It also has a positioning line to which the tacking sheet is registred. There is a suction area on the positioning table to hold the tacking sheet.