Case Binding and Hardcover Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The process is smashing.

Folding and sewing leave air between the leaves and thread in the spine, so a sewn book block swells, especially at the back. Smashing (also called nipping or pressing) compresses the book block under heavy pressure to expel the air and reduce the swell, so the block is firm and of even thickness before it is cased in.

Case making is the making of the hard cover, blocking is stamping lettering or foil onto the cover, and gathering is collecting the folded sections in order. None of them reduces swell.

Answer: C

The illustrated dust cover is called the jacket (dust jacket).

A jacket is a detachable paper wrapper, usually printed and illustrated, folded around the hard case of a book. It protects the binding and carries the title, artwork and publicity material.

The cover (case) is the binding itself. A blurb is the short promotional text printed on the jacket flap or back. Wrapper is a looser general word and not the standard trade term.