Hardcover Book Production Coming Up Short

Back in the day, hardcover book binding was truly a craft. One had to be a certified book binder to even work in a hardcover bindery.

My friend, Professor Emeritus Werner Rebsamen (formerly) of RIT, has seen it all. He has had a long and glorious career in every phase of hard cover production.

In the ’50s, the race began to automate the process, with time-honored firms such as Kolbus, Smyth, and Muller Martini vying to produce complete, automated systems that could turn out 50 to 60 hardcover books per minute—an astounding figure for the times.